Will of Fire, the path I choose
by alexander r
Summary: Hiraishin is only the begginning, the real kekkei genkai is still a secret." The fourth Hokage develops an artificial bloodline limit. How will this affect Naruto? In the process of college admission. will Upload in july for certain. july 2010.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto.

This is my third fic, the first was a real mess and my second is now on hold because of a writer block. I tried everything but I just can't express the story the way I want to.

Well read this and tell me what you think about it I don't mind any kind of you.

Chapter One: Discoveries and Allies.

The Bijuu. Great entities with abnormal types of . All of them could do legendary deeds, imbue humans with great power or create new techniques for them to use.

Not much is known about their appearance in the realm of humans because they rarely reveal themselves to normal people. But when that happens...

The first recording of a Bijuu dates back at the beginning of the First Great Shinobi War. In a great battle a ninja belonging to one of the belligerent sides used a summoning technique but unwillingly made an extra seal and instead of his usual summoning an eight-tailed ox appeared.

The beast killed every single one of the ninja out there except for it' summoner, who is believed to have become the first demon host. Soon rumours of such beasts spread around the shinobi factions.

By the time of the Third Great War all of them had appeared in one way or another .

Except for one. The deadliest, most brutal beast to ever walk the face of the earth had only been seen once. And that is ten years prior to our story. The victor of the last great war and most prominent village, the Hidden Leaf was attacked with full force but the massive entity. In a battle that became legendary, the village hero held it at the walls, watched by hundreds of stunned ninja, using his most powerful techniques to stop it. Then, at a critical moment he summoned the last of his strength and in a blinding blast of light the beast had vanished. The hero had died and all that was left for the disbelieving audience was a new-born child, crying.

One of them took a step forward and gently picked him up, his eyes examining the complex seal on his abdomen. One by on the Leaf shinobi approached, silently acknowledging the infant. All figured it our pretty soon. The beast had been caged, the boy now held it. Fresh tears on their faces, all bowed to the child as rain started pouring down.

Ten years later.

Uzumaki Naruto ran As fast a he could. He wanted to run and run and run some more, until the pain would go away. It was not the first time that the boy had been exposed to the cruelty of life. Both to receive glares and hate filled comments on his birth-day was just too much.

It was the anniversary of the defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko at the hands of the Yondaime Hokage. Whenever a village leader died or retired, the strongest ninja would be chosen to lead. And that had undoubtedly been him. In a short run as Hokage he proved his worth. The title of Fire Shadow was the epitome of a ninja's career. And the 4th had been th epitome of the ninja world. It was not easy to succeed the man once called 'The God of all Shinobi' but he had proven worthy of the task. The day of his greatest victory was a bitter celebration for the village. While shinobi would commemorate him as a comrade, normal people tended to exaggerate. And so by shunning the container of the thingt that had killed their hero they would believe they were honouring his memory.

Until now on each of his birthdays Naruto had been kept inside his home guarded by those strange men wearing animal masks and today he decided to get out and see for himself what his guardians kept hidden. He would have turned back time and stayed in his small room had he been given the chance.

Taking a turn he reached a dead wall was to high to climb and there was no place to go anymore. He punched the wall, his small fist leaving no mark on it. He shouted and kicked and punched scarring some cat away from the deserted alley until he felt his anger rise some more. He didn't quite understand anger, all he felt was the need to hit and WHOOSH...

Opening hi eyes he found himself on a rooftop in the other side of the village. The blond didn't know how he got there but he had no time to ponder as it happened again. And again. And again. He would wake up in strange places like the forest, on a weapon store, in the hot springs -oh my-Meanwhile a white haired shinobi thought he had gone bat-shit crazy. Seconds ago he saw Uzumaki Naruto disappearing in a yellow flash.

It took him some time to regain composure, seeing the boy all over the village when he should have been in the HQ long ago. And seeing him do something he had not seen for years, something he believed he would never see again.

An underground complex.

Danzou,and old, wrinkly man, missing an arm and an eye, approached a door secured by two of his best agents carrying a box with gift wrappings around was happy he could find a good enough gift but didn't let it show on as his two ninja saluted him while he opened the door to find...an empty room.

Shock followed by fear invaded his occupant was not there.

"003, did he leave the room to go to the bathroom?"

"No was inside the whole time and since we didn't hear a sound from him we believed he was asleep."

"You two go and announce every agent inside the village that our 'guest' must be found at once."

Both disappeared in puffs of smoke leaving a worried leader behind. Danzou sighed and turned around. Now he had to report to the Hokage.

With the white-haired guy

Things weren't so easy to figure out because the boy moved around at blinding speeds. His voice couldn't be heard but if it could it would probably be shouting in fear.

Two hours passed and now he was moving at top speed all around the village, watching every corner and every angle, making some of those who knew him to finally say he had lost his marbles. Some guy in a green suit followed him for a while, shouting stupidities about youth and flames.

One minute he was going towards south, the next he turned around.

The green-freak kept encouraging him, while a bearded, tall man laughed his behind off..

The expression on his face was one of confusion mixed with exhaustion.

'If this keeps up I'll have to retire earlier than planed. THAT speed is truly unbelievable.' Finaly, after another hour of chasing he found the boy asleep on a roof-top, his head resting against the concrete. He looked around to see men in armour and masks surrounding him.

"Please hand over the boy as he must be escorted to safety at once." A man in a white cloak and with an eagle mask on said. Kakashi knew him, it was one of his subordinates when he had been in the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokubetsu Butai. ANBU, the elite force of high-ranked shinobi under the direct orders of the Hokage. Kakashi saw some from a special division as well, but he failed to realize what they were doing INSIDE the village.

"Okay but I'm coming with you .I have to give my report to the Hokage about some strange new discoveries I've made." The masked one nodded, Kakashi would come with them even if they tried to stop him. As an old member he knew the inside out's of the organization better than most of the agents.

A riot broke out in the village, a group of drunk people began throwing rock's into windows but they were easily dispersed.

Council meeting

"Hokage-sama do you realize what the risks of this event are. If Naruto-kun is harmed in the slightest way then we will have civil war on our hands. Many shinobi would try to avenge him, and just because some idiotic civilian might harm him. I have already given you numerous advices on how to reduce this risk.

"I fully understand Danzou but we all already agreed on that. I trust your men to do a good job as well as all the shinobi in the village. You are allowed to use force in order to bring him back.

"That won't be necessary. The boy is safe and the mobs are being pushed back. He is now in your office along with some Ne guards and Hatake . They request your presence immediately."A young chuunin said as he entered the room.

This meeting is adjourned. The man know as Hokage left to his office, his mind racing with the implications. This would require serious thinking. Opening the door he found two figures in a defensive position around a small boy sleeping on a chair. He trusted them both, the former and current ANBU captain. But the centre of his attention was Naruto.

Being an experienced ninja he could easily feel the chakra, the energy in the boy's system reaching a higher frequency than normal chakra. It was contorting and spinning at high speeds, with no one to control it. But he recognized the chakra, he had seen it in action, as most of the veterans of the Third Great Secret War. But only in flashes of a few seconds, never in a continous pattern.

"The Raiton: Flying Thunder God Technique. How did he do it, Hokage-sama".

"Kakashi, what I am about to say will not leave this room. This is a top priority secret of great importance to the Leaf's military future. Did you see this boy performing THAT jutsu"

"Hundreds of times. It was like seeing a ghost. But he didn't use the normal requirements for it. He did it freely. Sensei couldn't manage that"

"The way the chakra forms, the distinct pattern, and the unusual frequency could only men one thing. Kekkei Genkai." He watched the man's eyes grow wide. "You know of this boy's lineage. All around history the Uzumaki had been know to sprout new bloodline limits in their new-borns due to their unique genetic pattern. And the 4th had used this jutsu for so long that traits of the chakra would accumulate in his blood. That chakra, combined with his mother's blood gave birth to this amazing ability. Kakashi, when this boy grows up, you will be personally charged to teaching him. Since you are the only surviving students of the 4th you are the one with the greatest expertise. Hawk!"

"Your order, Hokage-sama!"

"Take him back to Ne HQ. Tell Danzou to give him B-class training and equipment as soon as he is fit. He must be brought to the rank of chuunin in six months."

"Yokai!" and with that he disappeared with the blond in his arms. Kakashi bowed and turned to leave when he heard the elder speak. "Make no mistake, Kakashi. This boy is not your sensei. The 4th died long ago and to dwell on painful memories would only do you harm."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I understand."

Rice Fields Country. City of Sankyo.2200 hours.

A man wearing an official costume sat in front of the feudal lord that ruled the Rice Fields no Kuni. His clothes were white with some traces of purple. On his face he had a strange set of eyes that were yellow and slitted ,and on each cheek he had a purple triangle.

The Daimyo spoke up" So basically you offer me the chance of an alliance with Konoha and the Fire Nation as well as the chance to have my own hidden village should I accept."

"Kenzou-sama, the war with the Fire Nation depleted your treasury and whipped out your army. A new hidden village will give you the money you need and the military strength to protect your borders or expand them."

"And what guaranties do I have that you will not betray me afterwards?"

"The Fire Country's Daimyo offers his daughters hand to you eldest son, they will be married when they turn 21 ,that is fourteen years from now."

"A blood link with the Kaguyara family? Interesting."

"If you accept then twelve Konoha high-ranked, elite ninja alongside with myself will train your men and help build the new hidden village. In a few years it will all be finished and you will become one of the most powerful men in the elemental Nations. You may even be given the chance to have your own sixth Elemental Nation."

The man instantly agreed and the snake Sannin inwardly smirked as the bait had been taken ' Sarutobi-sensei ,one part of the plan has begun."

Water Country.

A boy of about twelve ,sat in the lotus position in front of the main tent. Under the black hair and two birthmarks one could see a Konohagakure head-band. He was undoubtedly a shinobi of the Leaf.

The camp, as always, was full of motion, a never ending stream of people wearing Mist or Leaf head-bands moved left and right either carrying weaponry ,either delivering messages. In all there were twelve thousand inhabitants in the camp ,almost all of them shinobi.

Following the death of the Sandaime Mizukage a civil war broke out that brought the country in a state of chaos. The Yondaime Mizukage came to power after killing all his political adversaries with the aid of his own special elite task-force. His popularity wasn't that great so he found a way to increase it, to secure his place: he blamed the country's downfall on the kekkei genkai carriers and initiated a massive purge of such people.

In the end all he got was an even greater civil war with most of the clans like the Kaguya-the bone users , the Shiroiaro-the ice users- , the Makemaru –the shadow walkers- rallying against the Hidden Mist. At the moment the conflict was at a stand-still. The rebels controlled the northern port-cities and about a third of the central portion but their supply was fairly good, while the Mizukage had three times the men only a very bad supply if a few ports that existed in the south and west. And they were all under the monopoly of the Gatoh Corporation.

Because of the war, the country could no longer sustain itself economically. Few were left to work the small areas of farmland, few could work in the mines to bring our iron ore. And so, the Land of Water needed out-side support. Shippings were vital to the two sides, that's why the rebels had such a great advantage.

Uchiha Itachi had been sent there to form an alliance with one of the factions that would benefit Konoha later on. After a close observation of the two sides he choose the rebels and that was the reason for which he was there. His main argument was that Kirigakure would have never signed an agreement with a Sharingan user when they did all they could to turn blood-line users into hearth-less, brutal monsters.

After many discussion he managed to sign a treaty.

It's condition were for the Hidden Leaf to support the rebel leader Shiroiaro Yukimaru in his war until he claims the title of Mizukage, either him or one of his men. After that Kiri would join the alliance between Hidden Leaf, Hidden Sand, Hidden Grass and the soon to be founded Hidden Sound. What he had to do was lead the five hundred men under his command and the ones that will be sent later on.

The Leaf had officially joined the Mist Civil War.

**A.N. : I finally re-wrote the first chapter. I was more than surprised to find that some of the words and fragments of the original document were lost when I uploaded them so i began a massive re-writing campaign. I'll finish all of the current chapters and then move on with the plot.**


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Two: Training, Spies and Bad News

The Ne division of ANBU was created by the order of the Shodai Hokage after the defection of Uchiha Madara, ranked SS in the early bingo. The sole purpose of Ne was to deal with outside threats coming from nuke nin from any other village. To differentiate from the hunter-nin they didn't hunt the nuke-nin of their home village but rather capture, interrogate and when possible, assassinate missing nin that had been previously marked as a threat to the Leaf. Sometimes they went even further, killing shinobi still loyal to other Hidden Village but with a large threat level to Konohagakure no sato.

The compound of the Ne was an underground structure consisting of four levels. The first level was the main hall, the place where missions were given or extremely dangerous convicts were kept into custody. To get inside you needed a special pass or membership mask and the go further you needed even more authorizations.

Level two was the lodging area, for agents to sleep or train when they weren't on a mission. It consisted of a dojo and five sectors, each containing rooms for Ne members. It also had a cafeteria and a recreation lounge.

Third level was harder to reach, all you needed was to have a pass, stamped and signed by the Hokage and later on approved by the leader of the ROOT, that is if you weren't a Ne agent. It contained the storage room for food and drinks, the armoury, the medical facility and one extra room.

Level four was the most secure place. You were checked for weapons of all kinds- from kunai to wood splinters- poisonous gas releasers in the mouth or other parts of the body, and with your chakra sealed with a tag you could go on. It was the office of the division leader.

Travelling between levels was made in the central area, a cylinder shaped empty space except for the stairs and columns which were filled with tags of various purposes.

The walls of the compound were made out of diamond re-enforced steel, two meters thick after which there was a solid chemical composition of stone which made douton techniques useless.

You had to be Houdini to get inside that place without permission and leave with your throat uncut.

Uzumaki Naruto's room was that on the third level and consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom and a living room. There weren't many decorations on the walls except for the pictures of the Hokages in the living room that the blond specially requested. The Leader of ROOT had complied, seeing nothing bad in him having the pictures of the greatest heroes the village had ever gave birth to, seeing that he was a hero himself. If only by the chance of being born at the exact same time at which the Nine-Tails attacked.

At precisely six a.m. said blond would wake up, get dressed and went to have break-fast. His attire was that of an usual ANBU- the chest, arms and legs plates, the black cloth and the bandages above the sandals. At first they had been hard to get accustomed to but he had worn them for a few days now. Danzou had explained it was for his own security.

Breakfast in the cafeteria was made of toast bread, butter, jam, pancakes and fresh fruit. Part of being an elite ninja of the village meant having a balanced and rich menu. Naruto just assumed it was the chef who had gone mad with his addiction to cooking.

After finishing he proceeded the put on his mask which had the shape of a cat and was carried in the backpack he always had .Guards from the inter-level passes let him trough without any verification and so he was able to finally exit the compound and head to an adjacent building, a dome-shaped testing area for new jutsu. It was heavily sealed, new techniques often backfired, so it was also strict village policy that a medic and another ninja attended any new jutsu development. Most ninja ignored this rule, but most ninja were crazy.

The interior was completely empty except for some wooden logs, a pool of water, a small maze for explosives and targets for kunai and shuriken practice.

Danzou awaited the blond near the logs that were solidly pinned into the wooden floor. Slashes could be seen on their surface, irregularly placed.

"Ohayo, jii-san" he grinned broadly.

"Good morning. Did you bring all that I asked you to?"

"Hai. I've got ta set of kunai, the first-aid kit and the special ointment for bruises and will I need them for?"

"Naruto-kun remember that thing we talked yesterday about your chakra ?I said i would train you to use it at free will. It is critical for you to learn how to control it." There hadn't been any other incidents since the teleportation one but it was better to be on the safe side. Naruto didn't seem to remember that quite well.

" That'd be great. Let's get started!"

"You sure are hasty aren't you? The first stage of your training will be to control the powers you have. that that i will ask you to make that hand-sign again and focus the chakra to your keep it there for as long as possible."Naruto complied and the base of his sandals glowed in yellow.

"Okay now try to stick yourself to the wooden log over here and try to get as high up on it as you you are about to fall mark the point you reached with one of the 't be disappointed if you can't do it from the first try."

"What will this help with jii-san?"

"Well it has the purpose to help you better control your control we can't use any ninja try it."

The blond moved to the base of the closest log and placed his foot on that it was sticking to the wood he did the same with the other way, in small steps he reached one third of the trunk before slipping down made slash with the kunai and fell down on his rear.

Meanwhile Danzou assumed the lotus position and began made no noise at all in contrast with the blond that started cursing the log and all the gods he could remember each time he fell down from the log.

In two hours Naruto managed to advance to the half of the log but just couldn't move further no matter how much he to the Ne leader he said" Ne,jii-san?I can't go you tell me what I'm doing wrong ?"

"You need to calm down, , especially yours is very hard to manipulate because it is very sensitive and responsive to your state of mind and your like me and close your do exactly as I tell you."

"Take three deep breaths each time counting from three to that place your tongue on the roof of your tongue and cling your teeth thirty-six times."

"Are you sure jii-san/ It sounds kinda silly."

"Do as I told and you'll see."Naruto followed the instructions and was surprised to find out that he felt somehow his worries were forgotten in an instant."Now try to climb that log again.."

This time he managed to reach a good part of the distance, almost the top of it.

"Very good Naruto-kun..Many shinobi take days, even weeks to master this exercise but you almost did it in a few come here for a second.I want to show you something.

Approaching Danzou that was still in the lotus position Naruto saw him taking a kunai i his hand and spin it with his index finger."Naruto-kun, tantojutsu is very important for a shinobi.A single shuriken or knife well thrown at the enemy may even kill a 's why I will ask you to take this will learn how to control multiple types of kunai, balance them and eventually use them in actual combat.A skilled marksman can pin a fly to a tree from fifthy meters away ...without killing it."

"Wow...am I really gonna be that good?"

"Even better. Let's get to tricks an schemes first. What I will show you will have to be practiced whenever you have some spare time. Take one of the kunai in your right hand.

Now balance it on one or two fingers. Which side is the heaviest...the handle or the blade?"

"They have the same weight jii-san."

" standard kunai are made like this. In case you have any other type at hand then remember this...When the blade is heavier throw it by the handle and when the handle is heavier throw it by the blade.

Now closely observe the elements. How many parts does it have?"

"Three...the blade...the handle... and the ring"

"Can you do the thing I did earlier? Then try to pass the kunai to another finger on the other hand. Close the distance between them until they touch each other, then move to the second finger to have it at the same speed and angle as first. Then change the centre of gravity of the kunai, but not too much, just enough for it to move."The blond followed the instructions and played like that with the kunai for a few minutes.

"Very good ,take a blunt one on the index finger and one on the ring finger. Now start rotating the two, what you have to do is find a perfect timing to begin rotating the other. Teep your fingers safe you also have to lower each one while the kunai on the other passes by it, and use that motion to move the kunai on it. It's hard to find the perfect timming but it will help you gain dexterity ,also required in order become a shinobi."

Another two hours passed and Naruto still tried to get the timing right. It was complicated but deep inside him he knew he could do it . He would become a shinobi like all the others he ... "He lost the timing again. Danzou sighed "Keep focused, boy".

Mizu no Kuni

A man wearing a black cloak slowly advanced along the empty street with tons of water pouring on him. It was dry and warm inside it but didn't let it get to him, as made his way out of the main street on to a deserted alley, where thrash had been thrown carelessly on the sides and above him, four stories blocks blocke most of the view of the sky. The town was named Kateshima and represented an important knot between two main roads, the SE-NV and NE-SV which crossed the country from side to side.

As in many other changes, the people of the town didn't believe that the civil war ravaging the country will ever reach the. Things were about to change...

Up until now the fighting had took place in the mountain passes east to the metropolis. The Mizukage wanted to occupy only a part of the northern ports but the rebels held their ground easily. The High Council decided to go for a strike right through t Kateshima and cut the rebels at half.

Rebel spies in Kirigakure no Sato alerted Yukimaru who left only a few men to guard the passes and create the illusion that he was still there while he secretly moved his main army to Kateshima awaiting the enemy. It was risky but the risk had to be taken.

The cloaked man advanced forward trough back-alleys and tight spaces. His target was a small pub in the lower parts of the city. It was a place where anyone could get information as people tended to speak very much while being drunk. He reached the haunted like entrance and wasn't noticed by anyone.

Giving the impression that he wasn't looking for anyone in particular he looked for a free table and proceeded to it. Right in front of him, a man and a woman, hidden under dark cloaks, much like himself were whispering to one another. Clearly they were spies, he didn't know who was the superior but he couldn't care less. It took eight hand-signs for his eyes to glow. He made contact with the man's, who was facing him and the technique activated. Though the newly formed mind-link he sent a huge impulse of chakra, destroying his brain cells. He fell with his head on the table, dead.

The woman also turned to the cloaked man and her green eyes met red pupils with three balck dots in the pupil. Like her companion she also fell down dead.

Outside the town under a tree, Uchiha Itachi heard a buzz from his radio communicator."Report !"

"Agent 1 sir! Targets have been threat is nullified."

"Return to base camp and take twelve hours for rest. You did very well." He had specially called for a specialist in espionage and assassination from the Leaf, knowing he would need to fed off enemy spies. Logic dictated that the Mizukage would have placed some of his men throughout the rebel camp, so he would have to filter them out.

Another man appeared next to him wearing a green kimono with grey flower designs on them. His eyes weregrey and his hair completely white reached his shoulders. His voice was tough and deep.

"So you took care of the job. Konoha nin live up to their standards."

"Kaguya-san. What brings you here?"

"Orders from HQ. We have to maintain our current position and make no contact with the civilians. The enemy army s #is two weeks away from here so can't blow off our cover yet."

"Two weeks is a lot considering the distance. Why the delay?"

"Bad weather combined with bad morale. Except for the High Command, nobody knew of this operation so it took a while to gather all the details. Reports say the weather will keep like this for a while.

"So we shall fight in muddy terrain. Very bad for mobility and supply. How many men do they have?"

" Half of them are shinobi but most are nuke nin hired for a few weeks . La crème de la crème has to protect Kirigakure and the Mizukage."

"Do we have a plan to balance the scales even further?"

"A strategy is being formulated. One thing is for sure, we cannot keep the city, we'll have to face them to the north. It 's risky but we are short on optinos."

Fire Country. Imperial time.

Princess Sayoshi was strolling down the corridors of the imposing structure, making her way to her bedroom, accompanied by her personal maid and two body-guards. Passing a large metal door that lay open she absently noticed the two shinobi standing guard on the ceiling.

Assassination attempts were nothing out of the usual when you were part of the ruling family of a very large an powerful country like Ho no Kuni. One of her cousins had died in such a way and since then all of them were having nightmares about mysterious killers coming in the night.

Finally, after the third set of doors she entered the interior courtyard. A few meters from her two men whispered quietly among themselves. One was wearing a black and red armor with the design of a tiger on the chest . He had black hair and obsidian eyes. A small scar marked the passing of a sword by his left cheek. His name was Reikaro Nobunaga and he was in charge of the three thousand men inside the palace having been recently promoted to the rank of colonel.

The other one had blackish blue clothes, wore ninja sandals and had a green vest with a red spiral on the back. On his fore-head was a hitai-ite representing a spiralling leaf ;his clothing suggested he was a shinobi of Konohagakure, an elite one. There was a permanent garrison of ninja in Tenkyo belonging to either Konohagakure or Kemurigakure, the hidden village of Smoke, the second shinobi village of HO no Kuni. He and his interlocutor had a piece of clot at their belt with the kanji for 'fire' written in red paint on it.

Right now, Yamishiru Saizo was the commander of the garrison and his reason for being at the front gates was one of high passing of the princess made them stop their conversation and bow down in front of her, which she did as well after which she moved further down the small road to the gardens area.

"So Nobunaga-san, you claim to know the reason for which the infiltration was do easily done."

"Hai but I don't have enough trust in some of the new men. This is where you come in. I need you to..."

Those were the only things she could hear before taking a turn and entering the majestic floral arrangement of the palace. Her father had ordered the building of it and could often be seen walking trough them..

Recent news brought to her said that she had just been betrothed to the heir of the Rice Fields. At first she felt depressed for the fact that she wasn't given a choice in the matter, she was only seven years old but she understood life better than most other people around her. Her mother was the sister of the Daimyo of the Wind Country but she hated to be married to someone she didn't love.

She loved both her father and her mother and they loved her or at the very least did a hell of a job at pretending to but she didn't like being used as a pawn in a political game.

That was the reason for which she came down here- to calm her thoughts. A most unnatural feature of the princess was her silver hair reaching to the base of her eyes which were blue and she wore only blue kimono or yukata, never a different colour.

Sadness filled her at the thought f her life being already decided for her.

End

A.N.: OK, I've re-written chapter two, it's becoming more and more annoying. I really didn't expect the damn word editor to screw me like this. I could barely understand what I had written in the first place. I'll keep reconstructing then move on with the plot.

That thing Naruto tried to do is what Kakashi did near the end of the fight with Zabuza.

Bag p a in viata mea!

Alexander R out!


	3. Meeting, Anger and mysteries

I don't own Naruto. 

Chapter Three

Colonel Nobunaga's office was a medium sized room with a large window showing the whole interior court, a desk filled with papers of all sorts, a second door leading to his bedroom and later on bathroom and on the wall opposite to the window a richly decorated set of swords.

Daylight was filling it completely.

A bell rang outside signaling the fourth watch shift's beginning.He didn't care much about that.He was concerned and tired.Five days ago an intruder had entered the palace and tried to reach the chamber of war-minister Wong.He was discovered by the guards but when they tried to restrain him he had killed himself with a small dosis of poison hidden in his mouth.No items were found upon him except for a rope, a kunai and a feather.

The intruder wasn't that much of a concern as the way he used to get in was.The guard of the palace was his personal job and he had done many simulations and tests with the help of the shinobi force without detecting any weak link in the defenses or security.

But that man had managed to evade the guards of the two main rings, pass through the gates and then avoid detection almost flawlessly.Almost because a group of men returning from guard duty had caught him.If it weren't for them then he would have been undisturbed.

But how did he manage to get in? Supposing that he was an elite shinobi with miraculous skills why would he bring only a kunai with him? If he was a messenger where was the message? If he had to orally transmit it who was the one to receive it?Minister Wong had left a week ago to Konohagakure and that was something of general knowledge.

Maybe he had been a scout but to what use.Even Nobunaga knew that to get a map of the palace all you had to do was to pay one of the guards when he was to be transfered to another base because inside guards lived and ate inside the palace.

So maybe he wanted to extract informations from the minister's room.But those were also kept in another place.It was illogic for such an effort to be done without any purpose.

That is were his friend Saizo intervened.Being an important member of the staff Nobunaga couldn't go around the palace looking for clues or signs of forced entry and none of his men were good enough but the shinobi were always available.Saizo had to entrust with one of his subordinates that specialized in tracking to remake the journey of the intruder and to discover how he got in.

The smell and barely visible footprints led to nothing but a wild goose chase.The trail turned into four and so on until it vanished completely.That was very bad for if someone could do it then any assassin could also find a way.The imperial family was in danger.

With princess Sayoshi.

The depressed mood in which she had been yesterday did not change at all during her walk in the garden.As always she took dinner all alone in her suite.She hated formal events of all sorts and dinner with her family was just like that.It was one of the few things that she had control of in her life and she kept to it dearly.

Her maid and personal assistant came in the room carrying a tray of fresh fruits and placing it on the table."Should I prepare your bed Sayo-hime?"

Sayoshi liked her very much being that she was her nanny and so they shared a mutual feeling of friendship.Her husband had been a captain in the imperial army that died several years before during a conflict with Lightning Country in an ambush.Back then she had been twenty-two.A cousin of hers found her a job at the palace and because of her dedication and nursing skills she was chosen to be the future caretaker for the princess.

Sayoshi liked her from when she was just a baby in the cradle.Keiko was like a second mother to her.

"Sure."her tone was cold and distant.

"You know you shouldn't be upset about this whole betrothal thing.And no your mother didn't ask me to tell you this."

"But how can I not be upset.All of a sudden my future is decided for me.Does that look fair to you?"

"Maybe there is more to this betrothal than meets the eye.Maybe that boy, Kotaro I believe his name was,is the one."

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Go to sleep for know.In a month you'll meet him and see how he truly is like."

Keiko's words were like magic to Sayoshi.No matter how troubled she was her nanny could always make her feel better.That was another reason for which the princess wanted to have her near even tough she was old enough now to be by herself.With a warm hug she wished Keiko good night and tugged into bed.Outside of her window a black raven watched with blood red eyes before taking off into the night.

Konohagakure.Next day. 3 a.m.

The council room was full of noise and agitations clan heads and representatives discussed the new bloodline limit's appearance and decide on a way to create another clan.

Uchiha Fugaku, as Sarutobi anticipated wasn't that thrilled to discover that now another person had the power to evade the Sharingan.He and many other clan leaders cursed their luck to not having any girls of the boy's age to make a connection with while enviously observing Yamanaka Inoichi and Hyuuga Hiashi.Both had daughters just the right age and both were now in a struggle to betroth them with him.

"Hokage-sama I ask permission once more to have Naruto-sama moved into our compound .There he may be given the protection and training he needs."

"That's bullshit! All you want is to have him married to your daughter!"

"And like you are any better! Yamanaka have always been scum!"

"What did you say you in-breed bastard?"

"You heard me you walking piece of..."

"Calm down Hiashi-san, Inoichi-san!"As much as they were annoyed the other council members were also amused to see the verbal duel between the two.They had already challenged each other to a duel five times until now.The show that was the council meeting was worth all the time.

"As I said before Naruto-kun will continue to live in the Ne headquarters and to be trained there as well.As for his future wife I will let him choose when is older."

The two opponents glared with such hate at each other while silently thinking the same thing' The game is on bastard 'Naruto will have a whole load of trouble when he grows up.

With Naruto.

The blond was randomly throwing kunai at the targets.The strange exercises and circus trick he was told to do made him more comfortable with them and he could manipulate them easily now.To improve his aim a small fly was tied to an almost invisible wire and standing at about five meters he had to stare at it until he could see.Also he did an exercise that involved theological vision.

Basically he look at the tip of hi nose.Then at an object five meters away...ten meters away...fifty meters away...and so on to a kilometer away and back in the same order.

Another was was to hold two stick of equal size with one hand each and the to slowly moved them in opposite directions until they were at the limit of his peripheral vision.

Every night he had to take two towels, one in a bowl with hot water and one in a bowl with cold water and the place them on his closed eyes for a minute each.That was to improve the blood flow in the eyes by dilating and constricting the blood vessels.Ne agents did such exercises and their vision was excellent.

He had completed both the three walking and the water walking exercises and now he was just repeating them over and over.You can never have too much control- that's what Dan-kun said at least.Because of his accomplishments he was given a tanto like every Ne had and he kept it proudly on his back.

As for his new chakra a few samples had already been taken and sealed off into small plants for further study.According to the men in withe robes the potential of this new kekei genkai was incredible.It had the ability to transform into any kind of elemental chakra, it made ninjutsu and genjutsu more powerful and many other.

As strong as it is ,other bodies could not handle it so the use of medical ninjutsu would probably kill the patient.Genjutsu due to being a cumulation of chakra would also kill the one cast on it.ninjutsu, no matter ho weak in level would be deadly if it was an offensive or entrapping type.

Animals also didn't react well to his chakra signature.But given the advantages of it all these limits were meaningless.After another half an hour of shuriken practice he exited the training facility and proceeded to the first level of the HQ.There he had to meet three agents but didn't know why.

He finally saw them in the not so crowded room and moved to salute them.All three were males, two of about twenty years old from their voices and height and one of his age.He was the only one not wearing a mask, showing his pale skin.As soon as introductions were made- they only gave their code names which were- Tsurugi for Naruto, Sai for the other boy, Yari for one of the men and Wakizashi for the other.

He found out that he would patrol the village alongside with them for this shift and a few others to learn some basics in shinobi stealth and speed.

Naruto was soon to discover that patrolling the outskirts of the village was boring and tiring at the same time.Except for a few squirrels or a particular cat that was constantly followed by three kids older than him nothing at all happened to make the adrenaline go into action.

At some times he would try to count the birds he saw or the trees but that became too boring as well.His companions didn't speak at all for hey had to be quiet.Other squads would sometimes pass by and salute them, all in total silence.

Finally the shadows grew larger as the sun descended more and more until all that remained was were the blood-red reflections on the sky and clouds.It was time for another squad to take the watch.

At precisely 2145 hours four masked people wearing ANBU masks appeared out of nowhere and after a silent encoded conversation Wakizashi gave the signal to leave.He and Yari took the direct way towards the village but Naruto and Sai decided to go around it so they could reach the Ne HQ.Sai was as quiet as before and Naruto was just too tired to begin a conversation.

After fifteen minutes of walking they heard some noises in their left, a group of people.It was strange for anyone to be out in the woods at this time of day so Sai signaled his companion to wait as he went to check it out.Five minutes later he was back.He took his mask off revealing his pale face and dark eyes.He was agitated that much was clear for Naruto.

"Naruto-san"he said in a whisper"The ones making the noise are enemy shinobi.Apparently they stole something from the village.I couldn't see what it was but from the way they were speaking it was of great importance.Normally we should alert the patrol but it's too far away and a signal would reveal us."

"So what do we do?"

"I'm gonna create a diversion while you get the package.I'll make them leave it behind and then you go and grab it.Don't stop until you reach the village the contact the nearest shinobi and go straight to the Hokage.I'll be back soon enough."

The duo approached the group of shinobi as silently as they could.Sai jumped in one of the trees while Naruto hid in a bush waiting for the diversion.It came in the form of a few kunai that landed at the feet of the enemies, five in number.

Then suddenly a strange looking beast jumped down between them.One of them moved his hands in a fast motion and sent a ray of lightning at it but missed by inches.He was soon grabbed by the creature and taken away.His comrades reacted on instinct and followed it.

Now was the time.The blond ran forward as fast as he could.Grabbed the medium size sack left on the ground and ran back to the village.He didn't know how much time passed until he first saw the walls but at that point he felt something moving in the sack.Up until now he believed it was some sort of documents or weapons but he knew he was wrong the moment he felt the motion.

It was a person, the enemy shinobi had captured a human being.Naruto acted on instinct as well and quickly opened the sack revealing the small form of a child, with short blue hair.It was a girl, that much he could tell, about his age.Examining her face he saw nothing out of the usual.

She sleeplessly opened her eyes that were pupiless,only lavender could be seen.

"Where...where am I ?"

Deciding to be as calm as possible Naruto spoke in a serious tone yet emotionless tone" Sorry for the inconvenience Hyuuga-san but there was an attempt of kidnapping that targeted you.Me and my partner rescued on, we have to find the gates and get inside the village."

"S-sure...by the way my name is Hinata, what's yours?"

"Call me Tsurugi."

"Your name is 'Sword'? How come?"they began moving alongside the wall.

"This is my code name.I'm not allowed to tell anyone my real name without permission."At that point he realized he had taken of his mask the same time as Sai.' Oh shit...Dan-kun won't like this at all."Hey listen Hinata-san, could you not tell anyone how my face looks like.It'm supposed to wears this." he took his cat mask out.

"Wow! You are an ANBU.How old are you?"

"Sorry but I can't tell you that.Ne rules state that any information leak is..."

"You're a Ne too.That's incredible."

Naruto mentally slapped himself.Under normal conditions he would be sent to Court Martial but the blond didn't expect such a comfortable punishment.

"Let's just get moving."

Rice Fields Country.Seikigahara city.Same time.

The city of Seikigahara was placed nearest to the northern border of the entire Rice Fields Country.It's population of one hundred and fifty thousand was second in the nation after the capital city.

Seikigahara was founded two hundred years ago in the late Warring Clans Era.It was a major commercial port to the Northen Ocean.Because of the rough weather and constant iceberg formations on it, navigators between the actual Earth and Lightning Countries were forced to go by the shoreline.So normally a port at the middle of the route was needed.

Through the city also came rice and grain from the Fire Country that would be sold later on to the other two nations.Because of the embargo between Iwa,Kumo and Konoha merchants couldn't directly pass from one nation to another so they used the Rice Fields Country as a medium.

It was a small country but if the Daimyo suddenly decided to close the borders for three months then he could bring the three great countries to their knees and everybody knew that.

Seikigahara was controlled by the Fuma clan which was part shinobi, part samurai, part merchants.  
It's incomes were huge- the trade itself the taxes payed by other merchants, the bribe- in all they were a wealthy clan.The Daimyo spared them of 50 of all taxes making them invincible.

The current leader of the clan- Arashi-was a relatively young person,only 28 years old, skilled in shinobi arts but never been in a major battle.Many elders of the clan despised him for this but he couldn't care less.He was a good leader and a bright tactician.Now he had to make a choice.

Konoha jounin had visited him offering a place for all his shinobi in the new hidden village.On one side that would spare them of taxation even more for the feudal lord recently issued a new decree to ease the creation of the village but it would clearly side them with Konoha and make enemies of both Iwa and Kumo.He was in a very delicate position.

Arashi hadn't slept for days since that pale skinned, serpent like man came to him.Not that he hadn't tried.Whenever he closed his eyes he would have nightmares of wars and death.Right now he had banished the third geisha girl in one week apparently for annoying him.

The elders would meet in two days and if he did not have a decision until then they would be entitled to one.He couldn't let them create a precedent for other political rebellions.

In his office he sat quietly on the last chair to remain intact to his rage sessions.Papers were thrown everywhere, a desk was broken in two and many wood splinters of various sizes lay on the floor.

"Damn that Orochimaru, damn the Hokage and damn that son of a bitch that calls himself a Daimyo.He sold us to Konoha, in a couple of years they'll overthrown him and occupy this wretched land just like they did with Uzu.First create a hidden village, second take control of the economy and third, plan and execute a coup d'etat.My hands are tied...I'm out of options...may as well commit seppuku right here...but I can't let the elders take control..."

Those toughts were crossing his mind making him more nervous.The servants had been given orders to stay out of the room no matter what.It was for their safety.

End.

Maybe some don't understand the plot I'm trying to built so I'll tell that I plan to make this fic a multi-perspective one.I want to make some sort of snapshot of the shinobi continent- a civil war, the founding of a new village, political games and the growth of a shinobi.

I haven't decided on the length or ending yet but the main part of it is finished.In my head I mean.But many details still need to be added.

Well you can make your own add on this story- a character, a jutsu, a secondary importance event.I'll do my best to integrate it.

If you want to flame do it,i'll give you my arguments.

One last thing I have a question for the Naruto fans out there:

I've often heard the phrase- Chuunins are squad leaders- but I don't get it

Genin squads are led by jounin, jounin and ANBU squads as well, if there ever was a Kage squad then I don't think a chuunin would be placed in the lead.In a chuunin squad one of the members would automatically be the leader so the rank won't matter.So how is it then?If you have an answer then include it in a review.Thank you!

Alexander R out!


	4. Battle for Kateshima

I don't own Naruto but I'm sure that out of thousands of fanfiction writers Kishimoto-san's lawyers won't pick me. 

Chapter Four:I forgot the chapter name sry!

In another training area, this one outside the village, surrounded by high rocks two persons were training.Or at least one of them was training while the other was watching and giving advice, always wearing a smile on his face.

The first one was wearing only boxers while the other had full jounin gear.Oh and both were standing on water.

"No Naruto-kun, if you want to apply full force to that kick you must swing at 360 degrees.And don't worry about balance just hit as strong as you can."

Sai was trying to teach Naruto the Konoha Senpuu but with little success.For three days they began basic to medium taijutsu training and they chose Gouken as the style which would best fit Naruto.Normally Maito Gai would have helped them but he was recently dispatched to Kiri so Sai was left in charge of the blond.

"Tell me again, why am I doing this with you Sai?"

"Because Naruto-kun, since our successful recovery mission we have been placed in a squad of our own.Right we are the 21st Independent Assassination and Retrieval unit.Our rate o success is 100 percent."

Naruto sweat-dropped"We only did one mission you know?"

"Yes but for the time being we are at the top of the squad list."

'Have Saru-jiisan and Dan-kun gone senile at last?'turning back to Sai"And why call us Independent.Aren't we part of the village's force."

"There are two main organisms in Konohagakure's shinobi force.One is the Core Army, the main group, and the other are the Independent-consisting in genin squads or higher ranked ninja that work best in small formations."

So we'll do assassinations and things like that?"

"For now I must get you to at least chuunin level before we begin any serious mission."

"Eh do you mind not smiling in that creepy way all the time?"

"Is there anything wrong with my smile, am I not doing it right?Should I put more emphasis on it ?"

"You're missing the point..."

Hokage Tower.Same time.

"So Danzou you truly believe those two will act well together.From what I see in my cristal orb, Naruto is now ...wrestling Sai and telling him to ...stop smiling?!?!"

"Well I'm sure they'll do just fine.Sai could be an elite jounin if transfered to the main shinobi corps but he wishes to serve in the Ne."

"How did you ever find a boy with such a bloodline.It's like nothing i've ever seen before.To create weapons or living creatures out of ink and use them in battle.Very strange abilities."

"A squad of mine found him when he was just a baby in a bundle by the side of a road.He was only a few hours old back the and starved.He was raised in our HQ since then."

"Any traces of this bloodline?"

"Well there are some archives mentioning the Kurosu clan..."

"But that's impossible...they had disappeared for twenty years when we..."

"I know, that's the strangest thing.And even when they existed traces of this bloodline were extinct from the Second Great Secret War.Maybe there was a branch family that separated itself from the main and fled."

"So a team of two orphans, with great yet unconventional bloodlines.Let's see what this evolves into.Oh no..."

"What?"

"Naruto is holding Sai into a lock and curses us both in a very...colorful manner.Good thing they won't return to the village until the training is complete or else..."

Kateshima.Midnight.Northen walls.

Fire from Katon techniques along with lighting from Raiton ones turned night into day as the two main armies clashed.The city had been occupied by the Mizukage's army a few hours ago bu there was no time e for the usual thefts or rapings as rebel troops assembled in battle formation just north of the city.

The battle began with a frontal assault because the terrain didn't allow any flanking.Before the actual attack a rain of projectiles from water based jutsu to metal ones.Apparently some of the experimental artillery pieces had been deployed as well.The rebels responded with a barrage of fire, bones and water.This had gone on for two and a half hours.When both factions stopped Uchiha Itachi's men along with Kaguya Tetsuo's had to attack on a two kilometer long sector in an attempt to make a breach .Soon enough the rest followed.

That was at sunset.Now the Kirinin had been pushed back to the walls but there they stopped.A few detachments remained outside but most of them were on the walls launching long ranged assaults on the rebels.

In the middle Itachi and Tetsuo stood side by side as they were isolated the moment, one holding a ninjato, the other two bone swords.The ninja surrounding them were to afraid to attack as they had seen the devastating effect of the duo when the first wave came.

"Well Itachi-san, if we are to break free we must employ offense."

"Agreed"he dropped the sword and went trough a long sequence of seals before stopping in the bird one"Katon:Karyuu Endan."the stream of flames cleared half of the enemies while his comrade launched several bone bullets out of his fingers.

Bit bi bit they were clearing a pathway out of the encircling.In front of them they saw a company of rebels led by another Kaguya.They seemed to be the most advanced formation so Itachi signaled to head to them and so they did.

The leader, a small bald man with the rank of captain bowed before reporting"Third Company commander Kaguya Kotaro reporting for duty sir."

"At ease soldier.What are your orders?"

"Yukimaru-sama has ordered us to junction with you and a few other units before mounting an attack on the main gate.Our objective is to reach this town square over here"he pointed to a map"and hold out until reinforcements arrive."

"What do we know about the defenses?"

"Only civilian conscripts and a few small shinobi squads.Nothing we can't handle.All around them jutsu were flying and making loud bangs reaching the ground.Wounded men and women cried for help.A new barrage was launched by the rebels this time directly on the walls.

Only a few Kiri units stood at the base ,isolated and continuously attacked but the main gate had three companies defending it.As the captain said a few shinobi had taken strategical positions on the top of earth made walls or small bunkers, occasionally shooting some kunai and shuriken at the assailants.

Itachi personally led the attack cutting people left and right with his sword or simply killing them with his Sharingan when the unfortunate souls had the bad inspiration to look him in the eyes.Again he dropped his weapon this time going trough a shorter list of hand-signs"Katon:Hosenka"

The flaming projectiles hit the gate setting it on fire as well as some of the defenders.It was a way too easy task and that's what made the Uchiha nervous.If he were the officer in charge of defending the gate he would have sent most of the shinobi outside while the conscripts would remain to man the walls.

'It's like they want us to...Fuck!It's a trap!'

As soon as those toughts crossed his mind the gates, or what was left of them, opened revealing a line of non-shinobi carrying strange metal cylinders with a hole at one end and a wood handle on the other.It had some other elements as well but he could not discern anything into the night.

The defenders pointed their weapons to them.A series of events happened at the same time in the span of two seconds.One a blast was heard from the newcomers, second Itachi called for retreat and third a quarter of his men fell down dead.

The first line was replaced by another but by then the rest of the company moved back.All around the battle field defenders seemed to have received a signal for soon enough the whole place was covered in that white smoke and filled with a strange new smell.

Attackers became defenders as the former besieged advanced, steadily gaining ground.Rebels abandoned their positions and fled.The only one retreating in an organized manner were the Konoha and Kiri shinobi.

I half an hour Itachi and Tetsuo reached the base camp only to discover it in ruins, burning down with men everywhere moving to extinguish the fire or help the wounded.

The duo moved to the main tent only to find a maintenance officer lying half-dead under a burning log had crushed over him.

"P-please...hel...help...me...I'v-I've got a wife and...and two children...p-please...-chough, chough-"

"Tetsuo give me a hand, hurry!"Their combined strenght managed to free the man and Itachi moved to give him some firs aid.The man's abdomen was severed and he had many ugly burns but he would survive if treated properly.

"What happened here?Did they attack from behind because we didn't let anyone pass trough out lines?"

"N-no...it was... f-from above..."

"What?"in response the man pointed upwards.The two shinobi watched in awe as strange devices, looking like huge wooden birds with square wings and tail covered the sky.

"What the hell is...are those things?"The flying devices each dropped some round metal pieces.In a few seconds explosions surrounded them sending people and debris flying away.

Tenkyo.Imperial Palace.Throne room.

The man who held the greatest army and hidden village at his command sat on the golden throne with two dragons made of the same material on his side.

His ministers had been summoned at that late hour for another meeting.It was general practice to have them in the middle of the night, one of the things he personally insisted on.

Kaguyara Katashi was thirty-eight years old.His hair was silver in color and his eyes were brown.It wasn't because of old age but of a family trait.His face had an authoritative expression on it and his gaze seemed to pierce right trough you.

The minister sat at a round table with piles of papers in front of them.All wore expensive kimono purple in color.

Two twins sat guard at the door wearing Kemurigakure headbands and loincloths with the kanji for 'fire' at their waist.

"Katashi-sama and fellow ministers.interesting news comes for us from Konohagakure no sato.It seem that an orphan boy has awakened an new bloodline that enables him to perform great techniques such as those of the deceased Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato.The boy i speak of is none other than the vessel for the Nine-Tails that attacked their village a few years ago."

"This news is troubling indeed minister Wong.This boy may be the future founder of a new clan, stronger than even the Hyuuga.We must get him as our political ally as soon as possible."

"And how do you propose we do that minister T'Ching?Princess Sayoshi has already been betrothed to prince Kotaro of the Rice Fields Country.We have no other of his age to obtain a blood connection with him."

"Maybe we should break the betrothal and make a new one?"

"And risk loosing the support of Rice Fields Country?We might as well recall the shinobi we sent."

"Come now minister Wong.You know this betrothal was a lie to expand our territory.Sayoshi-sama will never be married into that despicable family of mercenaries that got the taste of power.Why keep the charade?"

"Because we haven't occupied the country yet.We haven't even created the village yet.Patience must be employed.Uzu was the best example of this strategy."

"May I remind you T'Ching that Uzu was all for our occupation.They agreed to join us because of their need of help.They represented a fine addition to our military and together with them we became the most powerful nation on this continent."

"So it is decided that we will not take any course of action for now?But I suggest we hurry gentlemen because other clans not only from our country will seek an alliance with him."

From his throne Katashi watched silently as the ministers bowed and left the room.For the first time in his life and reign he was confused.

End

Short chapter but I got the inspiration for a batle scene so I wrote it.Please Read and Review, it really helps me improve the fic.Thank you !

Alexander R out!


	5. Death

I don't own Naruto but who cares...if I did I would have done it the same way it is now or did my best to.

Chapter five

Team 21 Independent was now in it's third week of intense shinobi training .Since Naruto knew how to mold chakra and found it was quite easy Sai decided to start some basic ninjutsu practice .Normal academy techniques like the Bunshin were left out because of their weak level.

Kawarimi and Henge proved useful even for high level shinobi so Naruto was first taught in that area Sai then proceeded in a long lecture about elemental jutsu and affinities, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each element in particular.Finaly he got to a part which the blond found to be most interesting.

"Naruto-kun, there are certain combinations that can be done between elements resulting in a different element. Combining water with earth for instance will result in wood, a particularity in ninjitsu that only the Senjuu clan and it's last member, Shodai-sama, could use. Water and Air result in ice. A clan that used to belong to Kirigakure no sato but now leads a revolt against it has such powers. Earth and fire result in metal. A country from beyond Tsuchi no Kuni and Iwagakure has a shinobi clan with such powers. As you can see, having more that one affinity is attainable but to create a new element you need something in the area of kekkei genkai."

"Saru-jii-san told me I have a bloodline too. Can I do things like those clans do?"

"Well your bloodline is not very developed yet but you can control all types of elements so I guess that with a little more control you can use Mokuton or Hyoton too."

"That's awesome. When will learn that?"

"For now you'll learn some basic Katon and Douton since I can only use those types of elements .Elemental manipulation is more complex that what you can handle at the moment.

Okay now Katon is a very dangerous style to because of the all destroying properties of fire.Just because you created it doesn't mean you are immune to it.When using a Katon always make sure to have a concentrated stream of chakra, perfectly balanced on in each point.It will grow in intensity as it is expelled, don't get anxious and push too much chakra.

Now follow these hand seals and memorize them slowly.Good…when the technique is prepared you will feel lots of heat gathering in your throat.Release it as you would with a stream of water." He then moved backwards, turning to a cliff and making six seals slowly so the blond could memorize them.-Katon:Gokakyu no jutsu- fire emerged from his mouth and gathered in a large sphere.

Naruto followed the instructions but could only make a smaller sphere to appear." I can't do it."

"Maybe you aren't gathering the chakra right.Imagine it gather while you breathe, expiring the air out of the lungs but keeping it for a while in the throat. "again Naruto complied and this time he made a ball of fire FIVE times bigger.It was so big that Sai jumped out of the way watching it turn a large stone in the water in hundreds of smaller rocks.The impact made a large bang but stopped at that.

"Well I see now what they meant with augamenting your ninjutsu. Congratiulations Naruto-kun you are the first to ever master the Gokakyu on the second try.It looks like we don't have to practice it anymore.Let's begin with the Hosenka."

"Hosenka?"

"Yes. This time you will created more balls of fire but of smaller sizes. Now watch the hand seals…"

Rice Field Country. 5 pm

Orochimaru was now observing the area surrounding him trying to analyze it's strategical advantages as well as disadvantages. It was a clearing with trees of thirty to fifty meters high surrounding it.It would have been very hard to place all the buildings and training areas need in a hidden village in that particular clearing but he had something else in mind.

The new settlement would be an underground one, a series of tunnels and chambers that would lead deeper and deeper into the ground. He remembered how the Ne HQ in Konoha was built. He will have to find some very good engineers and Douton users in order to complete the facility.

'It'll be worth all the money.' Two more figures jumped down from the trees.One was a blond haired woman with a small rhomb shaped painting on the fore-head.The other was a tall man with white hair mostly in a pony-tail.Both had a relaxed expression in the presence of the pale-skinned jounin.

"Hey, Orochimaru what are you doing here all alone. The guys back at camp found some good meat and wine in one of the and joins us."

"Sorry but I really want to get this thing over with.If you help me write them ,Jiraya it would a whole lot faster."

"Sure, why not?"and with that the man named Jiraya bit his thumb and began writing seals on the ground in a spider web pattern , adding a few blank points where complementary seals would be added to enforce the main one. The woman turned her head and left in a hurry the sight of blood making her nervous.The whole process took about three hours.Orochimaru jumped out of the clearing, trusting his comrade's experience in sealing.

Jiraya began making hand signs at fast speed.He finished in the ram one and pressing his palm on the center of the seal called out- Fuinjutsu: Tsuchi Kekkai Fuin"

The whole pattern glowed in bright purple for a few seconds before totally sinking into the ground." It's done.Don't touch the soil or else you won't have time to regret it."

"How does it actually work?"

"It can detect the presence of any chakra users and then proceed to eliminate him.The more chakra you have, the greater the damage.My blood is the only thing that can cancel the effect."

"Deadly and precise…it will do for now"they both jumped trough the branches"but when the whole thing is done more like this will be needed."

"Have the Fuma agreed already?"

"They are delaying this with their stupic bureaucratic nonsense. But they'll come around one way or another."

"You really don't like them. Why they looked like nice guys to me?"

"Jiraya, I was at Nagarashi that day. I saw things I still have nightmares about. When Sarutobi-sensei placed me in charged of this mission I wanted to refuse even at the cost of my rank. Too many memories and too many regrets…"

"Sorry…I didn't want to…"

"It's okay just don't talk about this anymore. "In a few seconds the trees were replaced by a mountain scenery. At the base of a huge rock a few hundred tents had been lifted to temporally assure the basic needs of the mercenaries or nuke-nin that whished to join. For now they were a rabble but in a few months they would become professional shinobi of Otogakure no Sato.

Mizu no Kuni.Fourty kilometers north of Kateshima.

The northern main artery was filled with wagons carrying the wounded or the few pieces of equipement that could be saved. Cries of pain emerged from various places. Wounded as they were these men were the lucky ones.The reports showed three thousand dead or missing and one thousand badly wounded.

In military terms this was a catastrophe. One third of the rebel army reduced to nothing in the span of hours .

Moving by the side of the road Itachi watched this caravan smelling of death. His left arm was bandaged having been filled with splinters of metal or wood.Tetsuo only had minor injuries.He and the maintenance officer got away faster than the Uchiha from the bombardment .

He watched the men marching by his side' They are afraid and confused. Now only incertitude lies in their minds.'

The battle was a shock for the rebels. The new weapons employed marked the beginning of an era in which the role of shinobi would be only secondary at best. 'Unless we find a way to better our tactics and fighting styles we are doomed'

Other shinobi marching by his side were warily watching the woods. Ambushes were a common tacticts employed these days by their enemies.At night or day they woud attack in small groups spreading panic and destroying supply wagons.

After the second day the strange flying vehicles disappeared and then they could finally take care of the wounded.Itachi had always hated military field hospitals because of the imaga of death they carried. Blood everywhere, people moaning or screaming in agony, young men calling for their mothers. Older men thinking about their families and how they will never see them again...the Uchiha shuddered. It was like waking trough hell and that was exactly what he had done.

Sighing he looked back in the distance at the mountains they had just left. Unlike the place they now marched the sky there was dark, full of black clouds. A storm of huge magnitude summoned by Yukimaru himself to cover the retreat of the convoy. The rebel leader remained behind and now he was fighting up on those cliffs.

The plan was to built a defense line south of the coast and repel other attacks until they found a more suitable strategy .

An alarm began screaming in the distance and once again the prodigy moved to attack the new enemies…

Tenkyo. Imperial Palace. 0100 hours.

The head ninja of the Konoha garrison jumped from rooftop to rooftop as fast as he could. Five shadows followed him occasionally throwing kunai or shuriken at him.

He had a nasty wound at his right leg, hindering his movement but still pushed on. His destination was blurry as well as the entire scenery.His blood loss was becoming more of a pain with each jump he made and his followers didn't seem to even tire.

Saizo had a scroll in his hand and kept it tightly. The information on it was strong enough to do incredible amounts of damage to the entire Hi no Kuni.

A kunai finally impacted with his back, the momentum making him fall down in the deserted alleys in a wide arc. The shadows surrounded him and he could clearly see their suits from his point of view. Long black cloaks with red clouds.

With a final effort he made five hand seals and disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing on one of the rooftops next to the alley and continued his journey.

The lights of the palace were bright and he thanked all the gods he could remember for he could at least see the destination now.One final sprint and he would be there.But the cloaked men and women gave pursuit even faster.

The outer wall was nearing and Saizo could even see the two guards.To his dismay both were drunk and fast asleep. Some vulgarities escaped his mouth and he moved forward. The second wall was too far away to reach.

Again he crashed this time having no chakra left for a Shunshin . Things became even blurrier and his pursuiters arrived near him. Five metal swords impaled him at the same time.

Flashback.

A black haired boy of about twelve sat on a balcony with another boy that looked very much like him and a girl, with black hair as well. A jounin with a pineapple haircut approached them" Team Ten I am assigned to be your sensei, my name is Nara Shikaku ."

Scene change

The sixteen year old genin stood on a branch in the Forest of Death watching his hands drenched in the blood of his enemy. He had just made his first kill.

Scene change.

In the barbeque restaurant Shikaku sensei was congratulating his former team for becoming chuunin.

Scene change.

The Daimyo of Hi no Kuni shook his hand after presenting him with a loincloth.

Flashback End.

The cold metal made him shiver and he felt like an infinity had passed. His body involuntarily shook for a few minutes after that. Yamishiro Saizo of the Twelve Shinobi of Fire was dead.

In another place in his sleeping bag Uzumaki Naruto was awakened by a voice in his head screaming in pain.

Kirigakure no Sato.Same time.

A weird looking paved road of a few hundred meters was surrounded by beacons making it easy to spot in the dark night. From one end to another an white discontinuous line marked the middle of it. A few hangars were place at the side of it with large metal doors.

One of the strange devices used against the rebels was approaching, slowly descending in perfect alignment with the isolated track.

In an adjacent tower like building, several persons stood around the top room, each with intricate equipment in front of him, a pair of head-phones and a microphone. One of them pressed a button and a voice could be heard in his head-phones" Control Tower this AXC-45 requesting permission to land…I repeat this AXC-45 requesting permission to land."

"AXC-45 this is control tower…request granted…repeat…request granted."

The device known as an airplane adjusted it's descent angle and in a few minutes it landed neatly, making a small leap and stopping a the end of the track. In the dim light one could see the markings on the wings, tail and on the jackets of the pilot and copilot- a red cloud.

The Mizukage sat in his office, observing the man behind the desk. Usually the Akatsuki uniform would be creepy in his opinion but now it seemed even creepier.

"Would you like something to drink Pein-san? Some red wine or maybe some sea fruit?"

"No, thank you. I am here to discuss about how the equipment we provided you with worked."

The man in the Mizukage robes, who's features could not be discerned laughed before taking a sip of wine." We totally surprised them. In a few hours we had them on the run."

"Unfortunately the next transport will be in six months. Proper materials are hard to find and before we can build the factories all the work must be done by hand. It's a miracle we finished the ones you are using right now in time."

"How exactly did you manage to create them?"

"A scientist called Naomako inveted a new kind of engine, the inner combustion one he calls it and applied it for the so called' airplanes'. As for the weapons, well discovered them accidentally while looking for a proper fuel for his invention. Almost killed himself in the process."

"You really are lucky you found him and' persuaded' him to join your organization."

"He came to us on his own free will. Nobody in the hidden shinobi villages or Elemental Countries wanted his inventions so he turned to us."

"You do realize the impact they would have on this continent. Hidden Villages will disappear completely in a decade or two."

"There will always be a need for assassins, thieves or bodyguards. Shinobi will always exist but I intend to have monopole on them. In alliance with you of course."

A knock was heard at the door." Excuse me, Mizukage-sama but Pein-sama's plane is ready for take off.

"Yes, thank you.I'll be there in a few minutes. Well,goodbye Keito-san I have some important matters to attend to."I a puff smoke he was gone.The one named Keito sighed in relief and looked out the window where the plane moved to one end of the track and began moving faster and faster while slowly taking altitude. Soon it became airborne.

'Son of a bitch. Let's see how cocky you'll be after I win this war and operation- Renaissance- commences'

His mad laughter filled the corridors of the building.

Tenkyo.Next day. 0700 hours.

Colonel Reikaro Nobunaga along with a dozen shinobi watched the body of Saizo laying mutilated on the ground. His weapons and pass papers were all in his pouch.

"It clearly wasn't a robbery …but the way these wounds are made…"

"Colonel!" one of his troopers shouted" We found a blood trail leading here. It start at the bottom of an abandoned building prepared for demolishing two kilometers from here."

' He was followed by the one or ones he spied on. Because of an initial wound they caused him he couldn't run fast enough to reach safety. One of the blood trails is considerably larger so he must have stopped there for a while…maybe he crashed or was ambushed…no kunai or shuriken were found…that's strange…and there were also the guards…'

"Lieutenant Kojiro!"

"Hai!"

"Who manned that watch tower in the night shift?"

"Privates Usanagi and Hagoru ."

"Any strange behavior on their behalf this morning?"

"They were very sleepy and talked weird."

"So they were drunk. Arrest them both for negligence and consume of alcohol during duty and without permission !"

"Hai!" the old lieutenant ran to fufil his order while crows kept playing their special song for when they sense a dead body. A rock thrown by one of the soldiers made them fly away. Among them was one with blood red eyes.

Hyuuga compound. Same time.

Hiashi was listening to his daughter's description of the blond ANBU for the fifty-seventh time and growing. At about the ninth one he realized the boy was the one each Council meeting had on it's priorities list.

He was overjoyed to discover he now had an advantage in front of Inoichi. 'The Hyuuga really are the strongest clan in Konoha'

However, discovering that Naruto had taken part in a Ne patrol task and was now training to become an assassin made him really nervous. At such a tender age to be given so many responsibilities and so much power was a burden of incredible weight.

"FATHER! AREN'T YOU LISTENING?"

The clan leader discovered the danger way too late. Now all he could do was look into the eyes of death and die with honor…or in his case with lots and lots of pain." H-Hinata-chan I wa-was o-only…"he barely dodged the kick sent to him.

"Father" Hinata said in a sweat voice and with a cute look on her face" why don't we have a sparring match right now?" Hiashi gulped. In other parts of the compound various Hyuuga heard screams and cries of mercy.

End

So few reviews, you people are cruel no doubt. I won't update until I get eight reviews at least and that will go for every chapter from now on.

Alexander R out !


	6. Sensei

I don't own Naruto.

Well not as many reviews as I wanted. I only decided to update after realizing a few facts in my life. I never imagined that there are so many Shikamaru-like people in this site – lazy as hell.

Chapter Six – Sensei

' Fear is the mind killer. Face your fear. Don't let it win without a good fight.'

Naruto sat cross-legged on a rock in the middle of the lake, eyes closed in concentration. He was trying to understand the strange nightmare he had last night. It seemed so real, so full of sensations that for a few minutes he had to convince himself that he was really awake.

In the dream he was being chased by strange people with large cloaks. He was wounded and fatigued, but kept moving on to a certain large building full of light. But his pursuers caught up with him. He was killed… the thought made him shiver… he felt the cold metal piercing his flesh in multiple points…the rain pouring down on him…flashbacks of what appeared to be his life, but he didn't remember any of those things.

He woke up screaming, awakening Sai in the process. The ever-smiling boy told him that it was just a nightmare and after making sure the blond was fine went back to sleep. But Naruto knew it wasn't just a nightmare.

Meditation comforted him but didn't provide any answers. A noise of splattering water behind him told him that Sai had entered the lake as well. It was time for Taijutsu practice, a thing he had come to dread. Sai was very strong although he didn't show it and managed to induce heavy injuries upon the blond which healed immediately.

The Kyuubi was the source of it but that didn't bother him at all. Ever since his fourth birthday he had learned to live with the demon as a part of him. His childish and naïve mind couldn't process the fox as a danger but more like a pet. A pet that tried to kill him when he wanted to play with him but that was beside the point.

He jumped on the water, facing his opponent. Unlike most of the spars they had, now he felt confident and strong. Sai took his stance and attempted a punch at the blonds' face, dodged in an elegant manner by bending the abdomen backwards in a 90 degrees angle. A leg sweep was avoided by an acrobatic jump backwards. This went on for minutes, attack after attack being dodged. It made Sai curious about how strong Naruto was but the most surprised was Naruto himself.

He never practiced such maneuvers but now he executed them perfectly. Sai increased the speed to the one used by jounin but it was ineffective. Twenty more minutes and he was winded!

Next he wanted to practice some ninjtsu, being a favorite subject for the blond .Both faced the farthest wall surrounding the lake, flashed trough the hand-seals and expelled multiple small fireballs, followed by a larger one and finally a huge stream of fire in the form of two Karyuu Endan .Every time they launched a new techniques they changed their position as the basic rules for using ninjutsu stated. Always relocate after a jutsu or risk to have you position discovered by the enemy.

After Katon came Doton jutsu. Naruto only knew the Earth Wall, Inner Decapitation and Earth Dragon Missile because that were the basic ones required in Ne and Sai was more of a long ranged summoner- his ink beasts- and sometimes a short ranged taijutu user in combination with his tanto. As most jounin had two elemental affinities, ANBU had at least two fighting styles opposite to each other in order to be ready for anything and Ne was no exception. Specialists had no place in there.

In terms of Genjtsu , Sai was lightly trained. He could dispel many high-ranked ones and create a a few but since Naruto's bloodline made him immune to illusionary techniques and immediately dispelled them that domain was as good as covered. Iryou- medical- techniques would kill the ones used instantly because of the need to inject chakra into them.

Fuuinjutu . Well Sai wasn't even an occasional user of seals so he had nothing to teach Naruto.

So all they did until noon was combine ninjutu with taijutsu . After a two hour break the blond would learn shinobi basic tricks and tactics , military strategy and about various types of opponents or weapons he might encounter. It was a straining regime but it proved very useful as the blond looked more like a ninja at an age when most kids barely learned what shinobi were. But Sai had learned at even a smaller age so it was nothing out of the usual. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Genouske had been taught by two kage-level shinobi at the age of six and reached the same level three years later, for which he was dubbed in the shinobi continent as 'The God of all Shinobi'.

Now it was almost dusk and time for the usual meditation that Sai forced him to do. A clear and perceptive mind was worth more than the strongest jutsu. There was just this small problem of the usually hyperactive blond falling asleep after closing his eyes…

In an enclosed space, same time.

Naruto walked the same corridor he had walked hundreds of times before leading to the ' royal suite' as he liked to call it or the prison of the fox. As usual the floor was filled with ankle deep water containing kami-knew-what things. Flashes of orange-red chakra appeared every now and then but among with them were wave of light-blue chakra. That made him curios as he accelerated his pace.

Finally the great cage appeared in his view and behind it a massive red-furred beast glaring at his jailor. Low growls came from it. As Naruto moved closer the Bijuu spoke:

"Well, Naruto it's been awhile since you last came .Training you kekkei genkai I presume. But I have a very good reason for which I called you here now."

" Well, what is it?"

" A foreign presence has infiltrated this pathetic excuse for a mind-realm- ignores Naruto extending his right hand, middle-finger raised- making changes to some of your bodily- functions such as muscle development, reflexes and sensing abilities. I have, after hours of failed attempts , managed to contact. I tought that you wanted to meet him ."

" 'Him' ?"

"Yes Naruto-san" another voice was heard from a corner " I am or better said was, a human being until recently." From the shadows a tall figure emerged, wearing the basic Konoha jounin equipement " My name is Yamishiro Saizo and I seem to be stuck in here with you and the Kyuubi no Yoko."

"How did you get here? "

"Well, last night, while on a mission I was killed and instead of leaving this realm I remained here. It was very confusing for a while until I could find the beast sealed inside you and I immediately recognized who you are, Uzumaki Naruto , jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi ."

"And what about the changes the fur-ball taked about? To my body."

"Well most of my psychical attributes have been copied into your genetic code as well as a part of my memories. I do not know the cause of this, it may have something to do with your chakra but I have to make some tests to be sure. "

" So you'll live in my head too? Damn I got to start collecting rent. Well maybe you'll of more use than the fur-ball , I can already do neat things like high-speed combos and strong punches. Will it get any better?"

Saizo looked confused at the bond's excited face, like he wasn't even a little bit shocked by the discoveries but more like a kid in the morning of Christmas, ready to open his long-awaited present. He was about to deliver the answer before seeing the fox making desperate mute-signs in the back for him not to say anything." Yes, it will…"hell broke out as Naruto tried to hug him and after that running to hug the Kyuubi in a childish show of happiness .

I was just one of those days…

Imperial Palace. Three hours later.

The Fire Daimyo was not you usual political person, like those guys full of themselves, making up lies as they breathed . always ready to gain some more power and support. No he was just an average person, as average as one could be in that position- leader of the biggest country in the known world, with two shinobi villages at his command , three-hundred thousand men in his military permanent-force… yeah, just an average guy who listened to heavy metal and playing a guitar in his spare time.

He never was given any education in the domain of politics because he never was meant to become the Daimyo. His father had been the brother of the precedent Daimyo, a small country samurai lord and he had been the fifth son. His parents never gave him much attention in his childhood, concentrating more on his older siblings. Actually nobody in his home showed too much interest about him. The servants were distant and obedient, the villagers, weary and quiet. No kid wanted to play with him because he was the son of the lord. So all he did was wonder around the forest, sometimes for days.

At age nineteen he asked permission to join the army and received it rather coldly. He fought in the wars between Konoha and Kumo, occasionally aided by Rice Fields and was promoted to lieutenant and given command of his own company. There he found the friendship and comrades he never had and enjoyed all the great campaigns along with common soldiers, forgetting that he was a samurai and constantly refusing promotions.

Ten years later he returned home to find it unchanged. The same quietness and coldness as ever. But that changed as soon as his cousin from Tenkyo, a former commander of his sent him the letter that would change his entire life. The previous Daimyo had died and upon passing on his son- the same one who wrote the letter- convinced him to name the' brave lieutenant' his successor.

His family had been shocked beyond al means when they discovered this. His father, old and partly crazy, 'ordered' him to refuse, telling him he wasn't worthy enough and that one of his brothers was better suited for this. That was the last straw. He challenged the old man to a duel and killed him with multiple stabs in the abdomen and genitals. For a samurai it is dishonorable to scream in pain or sadness and former feudal lord dishonored himself for ten generations to come. His older brother, Katashi tried to avenge his father only to receive a good old fashioned beating.

When his personal guard arrived to escort him to Tenkyo he ordered them to set the small mansion on fire. Since then he has never spoken of his family and never cared about their fate. That episode was the darkest one his life and he still has faint memories about it.

But back to his political career, he had rapidly become accustomed to the inner workings of the imperial court, games after games and more important, assassinations that came out of the blue. In order to secure his throne he issued a series of decrees in favor of two military and political entities of his country- Konohagakure and Kemurigakure. By allowing shinobi to have the same rights as samurai he gained a huge support amongst them. For the first time in history shinobi garrisons had been installed in Tenkyo and their commanders had the same rank and the samurai generals. That was to keep any assassination attempt at bay.

But by that he turned the high council against him. Feudal lords were not happy at all to welcome shinobi to sit at the same table as them. A crisis known as ' The samurai strike' ensued in the Land of Fire.One after another samurai were throwing away their swords becoming ronin, and attacking merchant caravans. The only thing that lacked for the beginning of a civil war was the union of these ronin under a common flag. When everything seemed to fall apart a new decree was issued. On the 13th of May in the second year of the Rat a piece of paper appeared on every wall available in the country:

' By the order of the Daimyo, these new laws are to be applied and enforced under punishment of death.

As from today a new army corps is to be organized, and it shall receive the name of the Imperial Army.

Samurai and only Samurai are to be included in this corps

If any other than pf Samurai parents attempts to enter or insult this corps he or her will be punishable by death

Any Samurai is welcomed in the new corps, even those known as traitors or thieves

Any Samurai entering this corps will be exonerated of any previous accusations or sentences issued by a court law under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Throne

Once a member of this corps a Samurai is bound to serve all his remaining life in it unless he is given the privilege to retire due to bravery in battle or other great deeds, in which case he will receive his own domain and Samurai subordinates, no matter the rank he detained in the aforementioned corps

Membership of the Imperial Army will earn each member additional rights and privileges.

Signed and stamped by the Imperial Court and Cabinet.'

By creating this new corps he gave back the Samurai some of their superiority and pride, enough to calm even the most rebellious spirits, and received an additional military force. The High Command of the Hi no Kuni , once a fierce opponent of his, was turned into a trusty ally with a single piece of paper.

That was five years ago. Now he sat in his office reading petitions sent to him from all over the country by various people. He was always dedicated to his subordinates, carefully examining every act he issued or any complained he received.' The best ideas I got' he often said' were from peasants or beggars'.

At the middle of the stack of papers he found an invitation to the main lounge at the concert tomorrow night, the thing that kept him going all these years. The' Leaf Trooperz' were playing and there was no way he would loose that. Kenji was a genius of metal, a true god of…again something besides the point.

Ame no Kuni .Same time.

After a long civil war with the conservatory elements in the country, mainly Amegakure and it's leader Salamander Hanzou, rebels finally achieved victory and began what they called ' the modernization of the country'

Laws issued by Pein, the mysterious leader of the rebels, immediately destroyed the ranking system by taking away all the privileges of the Samurai and making peasants and blacksmiths, for instance, an important piece in the ' food chain'.

Factories, at first small and unimportant and later on bigger , massive almost, sprouted all over creating jobs for the poor and increasing the income of the country from exports. New discoveries such as the combustion engine and hydraulic systems made transports much easier and efficient, gaining more and more popularity for Pein. Common people now had a stable job, a secure home and a warm meal.

Intellectuals were also stimulated and promoted in disfavor of foreign ones in domains such as literature and art, in order to increase the national spirit and pride. New police forces were organized to stop organized crime from spreading and eventually annihilating it- the State Committee for Annihilation of Theft- S.C.A.T.- Central Security Agency- C.S.A.- or the most famous – the United Anti-Crime Organization- U.A.C.O.

All of these had the role of making this once insignificant country a major force to be reckoned in the continent. All that lacked was a strong military to secure the borders. At the moment the organization of Akatsuki took care of external threats until a strong enough army was to be developed. But that was to be done only after the end of the civil war in Kiri. Pein decided to use that conflict as a live test for the new weapons. He had lied to the Mizukage about the low production level- in fact planes were filling the sky and gunpowder was stored in hundreds of tones – he only wished to see how good they could be in a field battle aginst professional shinobi and the results had been more than satisfying. Right now some of his commanders were already asking for a war declaration against one of the Five . And that was the main topic of the meeting taking place right now.

End

Sorry for abrupt stop but I've got school tomorrow and it's midnight. I've been typing for four hours straight and I'm exhausted.

More details in the next chapter.

Please Review. Thanks for bothering to read what my masochist mind is telling me.

Alexander R out!


	7. Core

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter seven.

The two shinobi stood quietly in front of Sarutobi Genouske , one with a huge grin on his face, the other with a smile. Their happy appearance made the Hokage sweat drop and turn to his papers with a blank look. Training had been very successful and now the blond could easily measure up to a chuunin.

But he was way to young to be part of a squad, even a genin-jounin one, something that troubled him deeply. Naruto would not stand to be kept at bay for a few years until he got a mission and it would be a waste of potential. But laws still existed and they forbidden the boy to become an active shinobi. Recently a group of people have been gaining more and more influence in the council, civilian merchants with a vendetta against Naruto. The could not do him any harm but would not allow him any special privilege. Only one solution was left.

"Naruto-kun, due to the Constitution of the Leaf, adopted by Nidaime-sama, no shinobi may take active duty before he reaches the age of twelve, which is four years from now for you. You can't be a ninja for now but there are a few posts that you can occupy for now. You can either join the ANBU as a special member or become part of the Core. As a core you will enforce order and peace in the border-town or occasionally go on diplomatic missions as an escort.So what is your decision?"

"THE HELL…I DON'T WANNA GUARD STUPID POLITICIANS OR BE STRANDED IN THE TOWN OF ' NOWHERE'. GIVE ME A REAL JOB SARU-NO-BAKA "

Sarutobi picked himself up from the floor and watched Sai do the same as Naruto held his ground glaring at him. He knew that was coming but could do little to prevent it. The blonde's voice volume was really high when angry and the Ne HQ had replaced several windows a week the last few years. When he was a baby, Naruto single-handedly kept all the Ne awake 24/7 and on high alert.

" Calm, down Naruto. It's mot that bad. There are many interesting things to be seen while…"

"I said NO! Give me a real mission! "

"There are none available for you now. Later on…"

"What about joining the Core and go fight in Water Country?"

"Absolutely not ! You are way too young to participate in a war! It's too dangerous!"

"I can handle it and there is no law against it. Let me go to Kiri!"

"Naruto-kun please reconsider! War changes people in more ways than one."

"Please Saru-kun- a vein bulged on the Hokage's fore-head at being continuously called Mr. Monkey by Naruto- !"

"Hmm…Okay then…but let's make a deal."

"A deal?" Naruto was confused.

"Yes. You can go to Kiri with the next shipment but after returning you have to join the ranks of the Independent as a … genin"

"A genin! You gotta be kidding me! That's more boring than the ' Town of Nowhere'. "

"Sorry, Naruto but that's the way it is. What if you return after…let's say four years…then you can be in the same team as… a certain Hyuuga Hinata."

"You've gone senile after all these years, you know that?! Why would I want to be a part of her team?"

"You don't want to?" now the Professor was surprised and at a loss. He had just played his last card and the strongest at that.

"It's not that I don't want to but I don't understand why you mentioned her."

" Okaaayyy….so why don't we get signed up then? Since you are new to this you won't get a platoon going straight to the front lines. And we haven't got any news about our status in Kiri for months so even arriving there would be a problem. Normally I wouldn't send you but given a few 'special circumstance' you are eligible for the Core. Ranking system works separately for both – that means that if you become a jounin in the Core you will still start off as a genin in the Independent and vice versa . You may go and rest now, tomorrow morning report to my office for the meeting of you platoon and departure plan."

"Hai" and with a fast pace he left the office with only dust behind him. Sai remained still the entire time, apparently full of joy but the elder Hokage knew what laid behind those empty eyes of the Ne agent. Always on duty, always ready to defend the village, existing underground and supporting the great tree that was Konoha… admirable and sad at the same time.

" Agent five. Present your report on Uzumaki Naruto's current condition and power level!"

"Hai! From what I've determined in the time spent with him he is strong willed, self-sacrificing and from a certain point on crazy."

"Please elaborate."

" At the beginning of our traning he was at the normal level of a child of his age. He maintained that state for about two weeks. After that he began to show incredible Taijutsu , Ninjustu and Senjutsu . The maneuvers and techniques he executed are very much jounin-level. The most impressive fact are his reflexes. I was informed he had no previous high level training."

"He has not and that bothers me indeed but please carry on."

" Since he seemed to be in a very good shape we accepted a number of missions of C and B rank, all finished remarkably. But during one of those mission we found ourselves surrounded by thugs in a small town in the north-western border line. We were in a bar and a under heavy fire of various ninjutsu or kunai. Uzumaki-san and I could not make contact with each other. At one point, after the explosion of a tag he stood up abandoning his shelter and charged the attackers. He defeated them all and left victoriously but for a while a certain gleam was in his eyes. My guess is that adrenaline took over him in that impossible situation ."

"Do you consider that a potential flaw in his personality that may eventually lead to jeopardizing the life of others ? now Genouske was really focused on the boy in front of him.

" No. Even tough there were some civilians In the areat none were injured and even more he employed teamwork to defeat some of the enemies. But the ferocity of the strikes is still imprinted in my mind."

"Would you consider it a liability in battle?"

"Not at all. It's more like a power boast."

"Any developments of project ' Snow' ?"

"up until now he could only use Hiraishin unconsciously and that hasn't changed at all. He has some sort of control of direction but none of distance. Yondaime-sama could have trained him better but I do not know much about the Flying Thunder God technique. He only has himself as a teacher."

"Finally what do you think about the Bijuu?"

" The Fox has not manifested itself too much and has not caused any incident. It supplies Uzumaki-san with spare chakra and heals his wounds but that's all."

" Mission is considered completed, agent. Danzou-san has given you two days off duty after which you will report directly to him for missions of any kind. Dismissed." In a blur of black ink Sai disappeared, leaving Genouske alonein the office. He took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco and lit it.

Next day. 5 a.m.

Naruto awoke back in his old room, only out of habit at that early hour. He took out his clothes, bright orange with blue and made a few push-ups just for the heck of it. Normally his training routines should have started late on but he needed a way to stretch his muscles. After washing his face and teeth he massaged his eyes along with the areas around them to adjust his eyesight properly. His gear, consisting of three kunai, ten shuriken and his tanto were quickly positioned in hidden pockets trougout his clothing, merging with the shape of his body.

After being completely satisfied about his appearance he exited the room and slowly moved to the cafeteria for breakfast, finding it rather empty, save for the cook and his two aides.

At precisely 7 a.m. he presented his special pass to the guard, who wished him a nice day.His mask was still on his face, contrasting with his clothes but he couldn't care less.

In the tower an ANBU guard directed him to a small field behind the building were the Professor and nine other men awaited for the last member.

" Welcome, Naruto, and let me introduce you to Platoon 35, third company, battalion 125, second Army corps. They will be your comrades for the next four years."

"Hi, I'm Kishimoto Masashi , sniper." A man with black hair, asian features and a smile on his face shook Naruto's hand.

" Homaru Satoshi, medic and poisoning expert."He wore a pair of googles on his eyes, yellow in color which matched his hair. He had a suit on him which seemed to be changing colors each time he molded chakra into it.

"Uchiha Senparo , demolition and explosives expert."

"Uchiha Kotaro, fire-expert."

" Uchiha Nanashi, fire expert as well as interrogation pro."all three Uchiha looked the same , being twins, only that Nanashi kept her hair longer and her features were more gentle than those of her brothers. They had standard uniforms of the Core on them, black-green and with the Uchiha symbol on their backs.

"Hyuuga Mizuro, reckon and sniper." Unlike Masashi, Mizuro had a patch of black cloth covering his left eye and his hair was full of orange shades, spikier than Naruto's.

"Hyuuga Hizashi, reckon and explosives as well as Taijustu."This time a man of high stature, with a strong voice stepped forward. He had whitish colored clothes, resembling a trench coat and black pants.

"Inuzuga Tsuro, reckon and Taijustu and this is my partener Shiromaru.- bark-" A feral teen ridding a huge white dog. He had black and blue clothes, again Core standard design.

" Nara Shikon, sergeant and tactics." Nothing particulary strange about this individual. Core clothes, black hair, black eyes and a bored look to match his appearance. If he hadn't just introduced himself Naruto wold have considered him a statue.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I don't have a specialization, I'm just proeficient with ninjustu, taijustu and tantojutsu. " He removed his mask showing his fox-like features. Some were surprised to see the jinchuuriki no a part of their squad but didn't show any sign of hatred or repugnance.

' As expected' The Third tought' All of them have seen or fought in the battle with the Kyuubi and saw the sacrifice of Minato-sama so they could be trusted to be Naruto's companions."Oh, Naruto-kun, don't forget the most important thing?"

"Huh? What's that Saru-kun?"

"Your konohanin mark, your future, your oath and creed. Uzumaki Naruto, by the authority I was invested as the Sandaime Hokage I now name you a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato." He said as he took a blue cloth with a metal band on it and the symbol of a spiraling leaf encrusted in the middle…

Water Country. Military Camp of the Rebels. Higarashi port. Midday.

The war council had started three hours ago and still no decision had been made regarding the matter in discussion. The defeat they suffered had been a rather painful one as the morale had been crushed. None of them forgot the inferno at Kateshima.

"This is outrageous, Yukimaru-sama, we must counter-attack at once and capture the Center Lands. We have the men and the supplies. What are we waiting for?"

"Calm down Souske-kun," a deep voice emerged from the distant corner of the room. A man with long-black hair, onyx eyes and a deep green kimono stood calmly on his chair, observing his advisors. His features seemed almost feminine, or in the best case, those of a boy in his late teen although he was almost thirty-five. As he spoke the air in the room chilled considerably and the water from a glass nearby completely froze." Do not speak in anger or you risk saying stupidities. Put away your grudges or your rank."

The older man, dressed I the same fashion but with more accentuated features sat down in his chair. His eyes shifted their appearance for a second from black to bright red before returning to their usual color.

" Gentlemen, as I said before we are not able to counter attack due to the thousands of dead from Kateshima. The only strategy available now is the reconstruction of the army. More troops have been sent from Konoha and will arrive in a week or two. Until we have a solid base we are to be kept on defensive."

"With all due respect, Yukimaru-san, do you propose a guerilla war?" Itachi spoke" Are we to stand passively?"

"Yes. Does that bother you Uchiha-san?"

"My only concern is the ongoing of this campaign. We cannot use small attacks for the moment without dividing the army. It would leave our current territories unguarded and open to attacks. If they occupy the northern ports our supply line is destroyed. Our only option would be a defense line."

"Bringing our troops in the entrenches and await our death is not an easy thing to do.Are you prepared to camp your men in holes in the ground and keep their spirits up?"

" If my duty requires me to then yes. But the last thing we will accept is to be stranded and divided." The room was filled with noise from the other generals protesting, some in not so peaceful tones.

Twelve miles away from the campsite, thousands of men armed in the newest fashion slowly moved trough the dense woods filled with fog. You could count about five thousand. The sky was full of noise, a strange buzz-like sound produced by machines with red cloud symbols on them.

Rain Country. Council room.

Pein and a masked man went through a long list of hand seals before finishing in ram and shouting " Ninpou: Summoning technique" A huge statue appeared, emerging from the ground. It's head had nine eyes, all closed and it's hands seemed chained together. A third figure, a woman with blue hair and wearing the same cloaks as them appeared in a puff o smoke.

" The weekly speech was taken care of, Pein."

"Very well then." Then turning to the masked one" Sensei, our last preparations are done. We await your commands."

" For now instruct the members to keep a low profile and stay away from the main villages. Start gathering information about the nine as well as the most impressive techniques from each country. "

"As you wish. And what of Water?"

"Keep giving them weapons but the old models only. The petroleum's price for them will be doubled. They have no other source so they'll come around. I will go there myself for a while. The next time we meet will be in four years."and with that he disappeared.

"Transmit the instructions to all our agents. You can take a plane to Kumo if you want but keep it hidden."

"Have you finished the statue?"

"Yes. It was hard recomposing that ancient scroll and discovering the correct seals for it. Not even a Sharingan could have done a better job."

"How long then?"

"In a few years, Konan. Be patient. Nagato will be avenged and the world will finaly know our pain."

End.

Kinda lame, I think but I hope I can get myself back in shape for the next chapters. All until now has been just filler and prologue, the real arc starts next chapter.

Please review cause I believe you already read the story. Thanks!

Alexander R out!


	8. A BladeIn The Mist, Chapter One: Arrival

I don't own Naruto. Has a manga/story/movie/game writer/producer ever sued someone from Fanfiction dot net or any other fanfiction writer in the world or are we just being overly paranoic?

First arc of this story… well wish me luck!

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter one.

The large, wood and metal transport slowly and silently moved across the calm, dark-blue water, hidden in dense fog. It had no signal lights on it as a mean of protection from pirates that had recently filled the area or stray coastal bombards. From a viewer standing near it it seemed gargantuan, 150 meters high, 300 meters long and 50 meters wide. It was the pride of the Fire Country's fleet, the un-matched transport/destroyer the Burning Stallion.

It required no escort because of the three lines of canons on each side and the small flotilla of boats it carried and that was a good thing because it couldn't get any. It was a miracle that this ship had been spared for troop transportation to Kiri as more and more tension cumulated in the Northern Ocean, as rumors of a pirate fleet being created recently. 

The Stallion advanced at the same pace until the observers spotted land and communicated the news to the captain. Since all was done in absolute silence, a messenger had to be sent by foot all across the ship to the main control room. There the captain issued for the sails to be lowered one at a time, again in complete silence. Then two tractor boats were launched from the ship by opening the lateral access gate. The inside was partly revealed, a miniature harbor inside a ship where no less than sixty boats were stationed.

The two met at the front and after half an hour of cable attaching and synchronizing the engines so they would go at the same speed, the great vessel continued on it's course.

Closer to the shore the sound of battle could be heard, canceling the silence. Explosions grew in intensity until it was a perfect replica of hell itself. A stray projectile splashed the water near the hull and the following one turned a boat into splinters, and the occupants into a mashed mass of meat.

Shouts in the distance, the sound of a falling bomb. A blast and the shouts stopped.

With a flashlight one of the sailors signaled the shore, now more visible. A large port in the shape of a crescent moon, large parts of it filled with rising smoke. The once great port of Suikatsu, but now just a besieged city. The bay was completely turned into a huge harbor and even the small islands guarding it's entrance were massively built on. No piece of soil, just paved roads and wooden docks. The largest port in this side of the world, handing 2/3 of the continents yearly naval commerce. Any merchant sailing out of the Northern Ocean by circumnavigating the Lightning Country made a stop there. Or at least before the civil war. Now barely some military ships and occasionally fishing boats came into the bay. 

6,000 were garrisoned behind it's walls, under the command of colonel Kaguya Izumi. An offensive from the governmental troops isolated the peninsula where the city was and since then- three weeks ago- a long bombardment had been instated along with the sealing of all land routes leading out of the fortress. Only a few ships could get inside the bay and that was the entire supply line of Suikatsu.

The Stallion moved to it's docking area, unable to steer due to it's size and so vulnerable to enemy artillery. As the huge vessel approached the dock people that had been hidden all along in the half demolished buildings appeared and secured the large ropes to the shore. The front of the hull opened and a ramp was lowered. As soon as it touched ground, men and material rushed out and were guided to their new lodgings by the ones on the shore. Carts of food and weapons, pulled by tenths of oxes were steered into a tunnel right besides the harbor that had been used for material supply back in the good days. Now it was an underground tunnel for troop transportation.

Among the many soldiers getting their first breathe of the Water Country's air were Naruto and his squad. They formed the rear of the convoy, the last to get out of the ship and the ones more more exposed to danger. The enemy artillerists were performing a serenade in their own unique manner, a type of canon at a time. In the opening a few tones of rocket launchers, accompanied by mortars. The pitch went higher and higher and higher, canons joining this sinister orchestra and finished with interrupted lines of napalm bombs. And some soldiers could take a nap during this whole display of ammunition waste. It shocked the newcomers to no end, a few beginning to regret joining the army in the first place.

After finally leaving the ship, a check up was performed to search for those left behind, either deserters either those being played a practical joke on. Then the hull was checked for magnetic bombs or divers attached to it so that they could sabotage it once out in the open sea. And two were actually found and executed on the spot.

The blonds' platoon was given a dorm room mostly empty, separated from the rest of the troops. Besides from the colonel and a few ones on guard no other ninja resided in the city at that time. During the greeting gathering, a lieutenant held a speech in which he called for bravery and self-sacrifice ' or else the whole war could end disastrously. His name was Kalin, just Kalin, no family name, no nickname, only Kalin. From the front of the regiment he took a stroll trough the lines, watching the men and occasionally making observations regarding their clothes or stance. Nine were given a 'disciplinary punishment' in cleaning the toilets or washing the laundry.

Sergeant Nara was summoned to the main command center at 9300 hours and still hadn't returned even tough it was way past midnight. The rest took their time unpacking or just training in a nearby abandoned gym. Their squad was placed on special regime, nobody knew what that meant but the older ones refused to say a thing. All they did was shudder and say' Once there were more shinobi here'. The regime consisted of a lot of free time, only interrupted by weekly reports or occasional tasks.

The bunker they lived in was built a few meters underground, from concrete and steel and had a great location in the middle of a former market square, from which you could easily make your way to any part of the city in record time. If any sudden assault occurred and breached the front defenses they had to go into action.

Besides Naruto who was a chuunin, all the other were jounin and had been in that position for years. He learned neat tricks from them, from survival in enemy territory to a few things considered by some 'perverted'. He constantly bugged them for new lectures and since they had time to spare he got them.

Mizuro was his favorite companion as they shared the same clothing coloring option and in many ways, personality.

"The Hyuuga kekkei genkai' he said' is no about just our eyes but mostly about our abilities with chakra. You see our chakra control is better than the average ninja's. We can do pretty much what we want with it as long as it is in our bodies and to a small extent outside of them. The Byakugan is just the way we see chakra, it has no direct effect on it, it cannot cast any ninjutsu or genjutsu but it's a great help when we have to use chakra in very intricate ways." He took a piece of paper out of his bag, placed it on the bed between his palms and began molding chakra. The paper moved in an odd pattern and formed an origami animal, a dragon.

"You see what I mean?" after a speech like this he usual went to play a prank on his cousin or superior, or just threw paint with a small special bomb all over his teammates. A non-conformist mind that couldn't care less about his family pride or shinobi career. His life long dream was to paint the whole Imperial Palace in Tenkyo in red and blue and after that drop thousands of donnuts on their heads…kinda strange but…

He showed Naruto how to make his own paint, un-washable with the exception of a secret formula of his, good stuff when you needed a favor from someone and didn't know how to get it. He had fought in the wars against Kumo and had received a purple Leaf for bravery as well as an honorific samurai title. His nickname was 'Upside-down' due to his 'exceptional' skill at cooking or other usual activities.

The door opened soundly and Shikon entered with a tired look on his face. He crashed in his bed and only said a few words." Uzumaki- Hyuuga get ready for a mission. Command center.Half an hour." And he feel asleep.

Mizuro and Naruto got up, dressed themselves in normal night uniforms and moved trough the abandoned buildings to the command hq. A man in his twenties watched them with a sad figure and handed a piece of paper to Mizuro who frowned at it." Why do we get a commando mission on our first day? We are new to this place."

"Orders are orders. Now get on with it."

"What does it say Mizu-kun?"

"We have to blow up a train, a moving one. It will reach this point here in five hours. We have to get behind the enemy lines, go trough these woods and set up explosives, here and here. The whole place is on high patrol so it'll be tough. What I don't understand is why they're sending us. We're noobs here."

"We better get going if we plan to be there on time. Will our boys let us pass?"

"No…it said here that this is a hands-off mission. What the fuck is going on?"

"Come on. No point in staying here and arguing." The blonds' voice was calm enough to make Mizuro more confident and he decided to investigate it after getting back."

The journey was difficult enough with explosions all around them and sentinels everywhere. At last they saw the walls, what was left of them, manned with soldiers, swordsmen, archers, and a shinobi that used a few Katon techniques randomly into the night. After a small planning they decided to go trough a large gap in the wall where enemies had concentrated their attacks lately. Now it was an abandoned sector, empty trenches with only bodies to keep them company. A pair of guards passed by every thirty seconds, leaving only a small passing window.

Mizuro threw a few rocks in the opposite direction, distracting them and the duo raced for the temporary shelter, immediately jumping inside. According to reports, at that time of night a dense fog instituted itself for a few hours so all they had to do was wait. The sky cleared of clouds and moonlight revealed the corpses of soldiers filled with arrows, pierced by swords or even blasted into hunks of flesh. Naruto could clearly see a boy of his age apparently glaring at him. From what he could see the young soldier died by an arrow shot at his neck. The arrow was missing, probably taken by battlefield scavenger troops in dire need of ammunition. As much as he wanted to he couldn't look away until Mizuro shook him out of the reverie. It was time to go.

Kiri troops had built watch posts, ten meters one from another, in order to be alerted of any enemies. The leaf nin snuck up behind one of those posts and silently slit the throat of the occupant. Mizuro took his uniform as a precaution and Naruto found a spare one in the man's backpack. As he turned him over he was shocked to see a woman with an expression of fear on her face. Luckily the Mizukage was such a cheap ass that all the uniforms were the same, no matter the gender.

They found a way trough the enemy trenches, un-guarded, by using Mizuros' Byakugan, and cautiously crept trough the lines. Naruto avoided being discovered by a sentry by jumping in a pile of mud…or what appeared to be mud but smell, consistency and the existence of stables nearby disconfirmed that. To the blonds' frustration the sentry was drunk and couldn't have seen him even if he wanted to. 

At last a forest appeared in front, filled with patrolling squads with torches' Methodical bastards' both thought as they jumped from tree to tree in absolute silence. The woods were full of ligh sources so moving in the shadows was very difficult. A loose branch made Mizuro fall soundly. Guards were alerted and the Hyuuga barely had time to cast a genjustu on the area and making himself invisible but no immaterial. The five men that came searched the whole place and one almost hit Mizuro right in the family jewels 'phew'. In the trees Naruto attached himself with chakra and anxiously waited for the danger to pass. Another soldier came and for a second he stared directly at the spot where the blond was. He was ready to kill them all but the newcomer shrugged and moved away. He was under the genjustu as well.

Incidents like this, where they had to stand still for fifteen minutes or even half an hour occurred frequently until the line of sentries grew thinner and thinner, finally disappearing completely. A clearing up ahead and both reached a railroad cleverly camouflaged by leaves and branches. With a hand signal Mizuro told Naruto to start placing explosive tags as he placed a different type of them on four tree-trunks in a square formation.

The sound of an approaching train made them jump away and hid in the trees. Twenty minutes later the first trails of smoke could be seen. At exactly 5300 hours the metal machine entered the perimeter. A thin wire cut by it triggered hell. Big flashes of light and powerful bangs were nullified by the ward placed by Mizuro. When the smoke cleared they could see contorted metal everywhere, half of what was an engineer a few minutes ago and large pools of blood that mixed with the dead leafs and mud on the ground. A fire was still burning in some spots.

The two were ready to leave when from a pile of debris next to them a man crawled out. He was full of burns and cuts and some of his skin was pealed off but his most distinctive features were his clothes. He wore white and blue robes and a large ceremonial hat. It was blue in color with two decorative ropes on one side. On the front side there was a portion of white with a blue kanji for 'Water' in the middle.

" Fuck…" was the word said by both konohanin .

End.

Please review and help me make this story better. It's up to you to make a change.

Respect. Alexander R out!


	9. ABladeInTheMist,ChapterTwo:The Swordsman

I don't own Naruto

I don't own Naruto. But I do own the blade in my veins…just kidding you sick sadists- if any of you are sadists.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Two: What the Heck!

Naruto and Mizuro stared wide eyed at the form of the robe wearing man, who began coughing and swearing. Ninja were prepared for anything but this was just too out of the usual. A Kage, wounded and half-conscious lying in front of them after they destroyed his train and killed his guards. Was fate really against them or what?

The blond took a few steps forward, cautious to any sign of hostility and flipped the man on his back. His face was covered with dust and he had a small cut on his left cheek but besides that he was fine. Through some burned portions of his robes he could see a few minor wounds. It was like he had just fallen of a medium sized cliff, not escaped and exploding train.

The man opened his eyes and stared into the cerulean ones of Naruto with his own set of the same color. Despite his coughing he had a serious look on his face and his gaze could tear holes into the blond. In and instant Mizuro was at his neck, a poisoned kunai in his hand while a pair of Shadow Clones watched from behind, kunai and shuriken in both their hands. Their Byakugan was active in all it's glory.

"Mizukage-san, you are under arrest by the Core Army of Konohagakure no Sato. Make any move and I will make your passing as painfully as possible."

"I-cough- I surren-cough- surrender. Just-cough cough- just give me –cough- a few- cough- a few bandages- cough- I'll take care of my own wounds." The Hyuuga signaled his teammate who got a small medical kit from his bag. When the elder Kage tried to reach for it he immediately retracted his hand to his side, probably from a surge of pain. Seeing that he was unable to even stand, ?Naruto sat near to him and began bandaging their prisoner himself, earning a glare from Mizuro.

" Thank you…young man!"

"Name's Naruto jii-san! What's yours?"

" Getsu. Hogai Getsu. Yondaime Mizukage. What do you plan to do to me ?"

" Take you back to our positions. And then lock you up." Mizuro said in a joyful manner. It was like he was saying a funny joke- just his style.

"Yeah, you'll probably be used to end the war in our favor. A bargaining chip or a hostage." Naruto spoke in the same way.

" And how do you intend to get me there."

"Through the woods, the same way we came, then by no man's land."

"Are you serious? With a wounded prisoner that can't stand up you intend to get trough the lines of both my and your armies. You need to have wings to succeed in that attempt."

"He's right you know. We barely made it and if we aren't careful he'll slice our heads off with the first occasion. Plus they'll send men to look for him when his train won't arrive. And checking with the other railroad stations on the way they'll know the area where he disappeared. Tracker pro's. In two hours max this place will be swarming with them."

"Then what do we do?" Mizuro took out a map and examined it. This is the place where we are now, and our lines are here. Damn ,we'll never make it!"

"What's this big grey thing over here?"

"Rock formations. A few miles southwards there is a long line of mountains cutting the country in two. Supposedly a few guerilla troops have their base over there."

"Why don't we try reaching that point." Now the Hyuuga looked at Naruto like he was on crack." It's the logical solution. Every area north of here is full of governmental troops. To the east there's the same story because that's where the main front is. But the regions due south are clear, maybe only a few convoys for the front or some policeman. The way is clear. In three days we can reach our destination if we travel extra-cautious."

Now Mizuro was more than confused. ' Damn ,this guy is good ! Where the heck did he come up with this plan.' Unknown to him, inside Naruto's mind realm, a certain jounin was also examining the image of the map and as he did he gave various suggestions to the blond. Saizo was so bored that this kind of assignments were the only way to spend his time besides teaching his vessel some jutsu or playing shogi with his roommate.

"Okay we'll do that but we need a place to rest first. We couldn't get much sleep lately and we also have a burden with us. There's a cave a few miles from here. We can replenish our supplies there and wait for the sun to set. Exactly twelve hours."

"You take him and I'll cover or track." As the Hyuuga moved away with their prisoner Naruto flashed trough a long list of seals finishing in Bird. Concentrating chakra in the nearest water source he shouted." Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu- Water stile: Water Dragon Techinque.". A large reptilian like beast rose out and crashed in the middle of the burning remnants, extinguishing all fire and getting rid of their smell if any hunter dogs would be sent after them. Again he made a few seals, fairly fewer than for the last and called for and Earth Avalanche. The remaining corpses and metal pieces were swallowed into the ground, which solidified. Lastly he gathered the remaining bits of chakra in the area by willing them back into his body. No trace was left from their successful attack.

They soon found out that traveling with a prisoner considerably lowers your speed and stamina quicker. If you also had to look out for ambushes or escape attempts that could really wind you. Naruto was a freak in terms of endurance but Mizuro was not and Hogai Getsu's wounds were painful too. So the blond found himself in the position of squad leader and medic at the same time.

x

Water country itself was not as large as the other Elemental Nations or even some of the other countries of the continent. In the Earth Country distances were of hundreds of miles between villages, the same as with Wind Country. The Fire and Lightning had experienced multiple demographical booms over the last century, making them more urbanized. The very term of village was excluded from any chart or map, only huge metropolis or fairly large cities.Third in place were the nations north of Fire. There, along the coastline a large super-metropolis was formed on the territory of Rice Fields and Waterfall. Tea country was also a big nation, but mostly directed towards agriculture.

Water had one eight of Fire's territory, it's power was only granted by Kirigakure and the naval traffic passing by it. One could find it's way across the main island in four days if traveling by foot and only one if using the train. The only major cities- with over 1 mil. Populace- were Kateshima, Kirigakure no Sato and the Capital City. Being so small in size made it easier to control or transport troops. Railway lines filled the land and became a part of the scenery.

The forest were the ambush took place was right between the camp of the besieged port and Kateshima. A blank area with no checkpoints whatsoever. When the Mizukage wanted to pay a visit to the frontlines his personal guard suggested to go around it or use an airplane to get there faster but he had little trust for the Ame supplied aircrafts and preferred the good old fashion, steam powered machines created in the foundries down south. He took a member of the Seven with him and dispatched the to the front. Sakagura Kaiho had died in the surprise attack but six others still remained. And one was now impatiently waiting for the train to arrive.

He was named as Commander of the Suikatsu Corps, sent to this meaningless battle when others could go and fight a real war. 'Let's face it, I'll never be considered as good a Momochi or Hoshigaki. My appointing as a Swordsman is no such a great achievement as I originally tought. All you get is either becoming cold and distant like Zabuza or going crazy like Raiga or even Kisame . I have a large arsenal of Suiton and Raiton jutsu and my kenjutsu is one of the best but no. I'll always be a secondary figure. And where in the name of Valhalla is that idiot of a Kage.'

He bit his thumb, smeared the blood on his other palm and formed a few seals. Lots of kanji in a spider-web pattern appeared where he touched his hand on his left fore-arm." Summoning Technique" A hawk of normal size appeared out of the smoke. His feathers were light-blue, the same color as the sky.

"Go south of here, along the railroad and look for a train from Kateshima."

"Osu" and the talking bird took off. Returning his gaze to the empty station he felt the presence of another shinobi, his predecessor in the post of Commander, and now second in command of the siege. 'From his pace and breathing rhythm as well as heart beats he is afraid' the swordsman concluded without even looking at the newcomer.

"What troubles you, Yoshi-san? Usually you were still in a brothel until noon. Or have the girls become boring to your Heavenly Staff?" He said with a smirk on his face and disgust for the other. Sure he liked to spend some quality time with his girlfriend too but never on duty.' A shinobi is weapon. It needs to be regularly cleaned and sharpened but when it must be used it must be ready at once. Or at least that's what they told us at the academy- freaking liars. All they did was party all day long and barely made it to class. One day I'll take care of those fateles cowards.' He promised to himself.

"Well do you have anything to report or did you come just to meditate about the immortality of the human soul?"

"Pardon me, senpai, but some of the men from the patrolling area 14 reported strange sounds last night as well as faint chakra remnants. At about 500 hours there was a large ball of smoke but no sound or fire to confirm a blast and they took it as the train…"

"Incompetent idiots! Why didn't they investigate? What if it was a masked detonation?" now the colonel began to sweat visibly" Are they kids or soldiers? By any standards that means that a group of enemies passed trough our lines. You dumb, green eyed, son of a whore! If anything serious happened you'll be the one to blame. All those on patrol in area 14 last night are now sent to Court Martial for lack of attention on duty and aiding enemy troops on an infiltration mission. By Thor's ass! We have to find that train immediately!"

x

Naruto and Mizuro made camp in a cave a few miles south and had a short meal consisting in soldier pills. Getsu was also given some rice and sushi, which both Leaf nin loathed. Against all odds a rain started to pour heavily, aided by strong winds of 120 mph. It was the rainy season and because of the nearby shoreline, they were right in the middle of a storm. Both the Uzumaki and the Hyuuga stood powerlessly and watched as tree got carried up into the air with their roots pulled from the soil completely.

" A Divine Storm" The Kage said.

"A what, jii-san?"

"Divine Storm. That's the first sailors and colonists of this island called it. They appear once a year, and you can only see them at the last moment. Any ship out in the sea right now is more than likely smashed to the reefs or sunken. When I was a sailor apprentice, at about your age I once saw a whole battleship flying over my head. Five thousand deaths. Some call it a punishment from Heaven for our sins."

"Do you believe in such nonsense?"

"I was taught like that since I was a child. If you don't believe or you don't pretend to believe you will be ostracized by the rest of the people here. Our religion is very strict when it comes to myths and superstitions."

"You can't choose your religion here? But that's a major breaking of international laws!"

"On paper we have a lot of freedom but every boy and girl is educated in the same way and if any goes astray he either gets a beating from his parents or he is fired from his job, thrown out of his home. Many fanatics roam the country. I believe that is one of the reasons for which you entered this war against us."

"It more than logical. We are supporters of democratic ideas and free will. We have a Daimyo, yes, but he rules with the aid of a Parliament, a prime-minister and his cabinet. We allow any person that has a home that adds to the state profit by 2000 ryou each year to vote. We have one of the best political systems in the world."

"That may be so but you still miss the point, Hyuuga-san."

"What do you mean?"

"It should be obvious. Everything is controlled, anyone is studied and any action is premeditated. There have been no accident or stray attacks since humans discovered politics. What you have is just another façade of what we have."

"I don't understand."

"In time you will. Learn to look underneath the underneath." And with that he laid down and closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes he fell asleep.


	10. ABladeInTheMist,ChapterThree: The Trail

I don't own Naruto

I don't own Naruto. And neither do you.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter three: The Trail.

Naruto was carefully observing the convoy from the safety of a large tree and the help of his eyes only. Any kind of lens that could reflect light would pose a huge risk. Five men, no shinobi were the only protection for the two carts filled with supplies for the front. Food and medical equipment. He measure the distance from his current location to the target' Five hundred yards'. With a few hand signals he directed his Shadow Clone who disappeared in a flash of bright yellow. One of the guards saw it with the corner of his eyes but decided that he was seeing things.

' Idiot! He should know better than to use it here… stupid clones.'

It was a clear day, with very few clouds and almost no wind, no sign of the storm that had just recently devastated the land. But the earth was full of crashed trees. The road on which the convoy moved was no exception and more than once the escorts had to use axes to clear the way. From the way they moved, carelessly and unaware of possible ambushes or snipers, the blonds deduced they were hired mostly to ease the road and not for guard duty. Easy targets for even a genin.

At one point, when a tree had just been moved aside, five kunai imbedded themselves in their throats and two senbon filled with paralizers took out the ones leading the wagons. But when a group of clones tried to approach they were destroyed by a kunai with an exploding tag on it coming from under one of the wagons. Twenty more kunai destroyed the rest of them and from the trees a girl of twelve or so leapt to the ground. She wore the forehead protector of Kirigakure. Smirking she moved to the first cart and said to her teammate' Weak. Are you guys deaf or something?"

"Hey give me a break! I've been clinging to this fir hours. „A blond boy with brown eyes crawled out of the wagon. Another one that resembled him perfectly did the same thing from the other. As the girl they had Kiri clothes and ninja symbol. The first looked around or a ew seconds but failed to find whatever he was looking for." Yo, did you destroy the body or what?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

" "

"The bastard who made these clones ain't here. Fuck!"

"We gotta signal sensei." A they talked a large formation of mist formed around them obscuring their view and smell. A faint clicking sound came from their left making them to turn around and fall into a defensive formation. From the other side two blades clashed, and again and a third time until a shout o pain was heard.

"Was that sensei? Or our enemies?"

A man in jounin clothing appeared out of nowhere." Report. Who the hell are we dealing with?"

"His clones looked like those of a boy. It could be a Genjtsu, or they may be more. Who attacked you." Or the first time the boys saw the ugly mark of a kunai on the man's back."

"Couldn't see him. He moved so freaking fast. Watch out" kunai and senbon began raining from everywhere but were deflected." He uses numbers in his favor. And this mist…"Now they had to jump in order to avoid being his." Don't let him separate us!" the jounin shouted.

Out of sheer instinct he took a katana strapped to his belt and directed upwards, the same time as Naruto descended on him. With a flash the blond disappeared, and reappeared behind him but the girl was ready and sent a kunai to his gut. Another flash.

The rain of metal objects continued as Naruto moved from spot to spot trying to corner them. After two more failed attempts to kill the leader he leapt a few meters behind and began making hand signs at a fast pace." Fire style: Fire Ball Technique."

"Water Style: Water Wall" The ball of plasma turned the water into steam." Fire Style: Mythical Fire Bird Technique." Now they four had jump away real fast at small projectiles approached them. The girl went into the ground and one of the boys took a fighting stance. Naruto moved into his own and sent a high kick to his head, blocked with both hands. The boy pushed the foot aside and moved to his opponents abdomen, fist closed. The punch connected and again Naruto had to disappear.

The girl appeared behind him as he took a breath and attempted to hit him but he turned out of pure instinct and paired the kunai. The jounin moved from behind and the two boys from each side. Naruto jumped and in the process contorted his body, hitting each opponent with one of his limbs. As the jounin was sent flying from the hit to his face, two shadow clones came from each side.

He spinned in mid air and cut them both, while still flying. The girl landed neatly but in the next second the blond was in front of her on one hand and kicked her in the face. Rotating he reached around and punched her in the back o the neck. The twins came to him shouting, with parallel courses. With a low sweep he made them fly again and two shadow clones appeared out of nowhere right in front of them, kicking them in a synchronized manner.

But unknown to Naruto the jounin was behind him making hand seals and in the next moment the blond was trapped by a mundane hand. The limb crushed him, as he turned paler and paler.

" I don't know how you got here, Konoha dog but you better not make any sudden move."

Meanwhile, in the woods.

'He' was traveling slowly along the tracks, noting any oddities or signs of a battle that might appear. So far he found noting, just trees and trees. A clearing was up ahead and hurried up a bit wanting to rest , even for five minutes. But as he approached it the tracks just disappeared in to the ground, otherwise dull.

He closed his eyes and pushed his hand against the malleable soil. Immediately another kind of view was accessible to him, a fainter one than usually, one that perceived things in every direction. Beneath him he could see the contorted pieces of metal and wood, once part of a train as well as bodies o various people. He pushed more chakra into the soil and the corpses began radiating dim, blue light. He slowly examined the whole area, analyzing each signature. At last he got up and said to himself" He ain't here! So he or they took him away! Thor's hammer! Now I have to find the bastard too!". He made three hand signs and a lash of red appeared over the sky, signaling for the salvage and morgue teams.

He took a bit of soil between his fingers and, as stupid as it sounds, shouted at it. A few moments later took of, in the same direction as other ninja had, not so long ago.

With Naruto,

The jounin sat on his knees, desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his chest. The twins lay lifelessly a few meters away, their heads severed. The girl had the worst fate, tough. She was scattered all over the area. The blond was standing in front of his last living opponent, watching as life poured out of him and as the shadow of death engulfed his mind. That man was not ready to die yet and so he could barely understand what was happening.

" A sad fate for all, jounin. Do you have a poem to pass on for your passing?"

He stood up, pain filling his limbs, every muscle protesting violently to the sudden action. His lungs had been filled with blood and would soon suffer from arterial insufficiency. No blood was being pumped to them because almost none was left in his system. With a final effort he pulled a piece of paper out o his pouch and handed it to the blonde. A sword cleared his head, ending his suffering.

Naruto contemplated the paper for a while, the meaning of the words on it ringing in his mind.' On a cherry tree/ Rain has fallen/ Sad tears of the sky."

End.

I would like to apologize for the short chapter and the delay. I have my reasons for it but still I owe my readers an apology. I just don't have the motivation- no as much as other times. I'll do my best to keep the story in a constant chapter release plan.

Alexander R out!


	11. ABladeInTheMist,ChFour:InThePouringRain

I don't; own Naruto

I don't; own Naruto

A Blade In The Mist Chapter- oh F I forget the chapter number- In The Pouring Rain

The swordsman carefully observed his surroundings, taking even the smallest feature into consideration. Most ninja would ignore the simple trees, rocks, birds or if they do acknowledge their existence they instantly dismissed it as if it was nothing. Most looked for chakra patterns, ninjutsu or genjutsu remnants, stray kunai, shuriken, blood droplets or anything out of the usual. Trackers didn't. Trackers took every aspect of the environment as something worthy of studying. In their job nothing was un-important or important, all objects and beings had to be considered of equal relevancy. True to his training, he closed his eyes and tapped the ground three times at an equal pace.

His attention was diverted to his left, a broken cart, no signs of fire on it, it had been rendered useless by a powerful impact. By the way the wood was broken, either a large rock, a tree trunk or a real strong punch/kick. Moisture levels in the air were higher than usual, a lone slash on a tree stood out a little bit too obvious. Also a puddle of water in the middle of the road, right underneath the dense foliage was not the work of mother nature.

Speaking loudly to himself he analyzed what he had found." Some things are clearly out of place here. Someone ambushed a small convoy and took only the food, maps and medical supplies. That would explain the bodies buried about ten feet below me, three kids, their jounin due to his advanced chakra coils, and the civilian they were escorting. The items taken away prove that whoever did this is a runaway, a high level one in terms of strength, in need of supplies, possibly part of a larger group. The damage is centered around this spot and so are the bodies. He erased some of his tracks but was too much in a hurry. It's them alright. They don't know I'm coming or else they would have been more careful. "

The seasoned eagle choose that moment to give out a cry and broke the circle he was moving in until now, going to south/ south-west.

"Why are they choosing that course instead of going to the main front line. Or even stranger, why aren't they returning to their original headquarters. There's nothing down south except for a few scattered rebellious factions, fighting each other, nothing more than crime gangs. Well, I'll just have to get to them before they reach the mountains. My reputation is at stake."

With that last comment he dashed trough the branches at speeds of inhuman level. If anything, his body alone should have been smashed by the G force. An unlucky bird standing in his way got blasted by the impact, it was like a human bullet. ' I hate using this because it makes it impossible to keep my signature hidden but it won't matter if they see me coming or not. I ain't called Thor's Hammer for nothing."

With Naruto

The three shinobi traveled silently through the dense woodland in which they hoped too loose any possible pursuer, given that there even was a pursuer. For a while now the shinobi became bored of taking detours through uncharted woods, traveling mainly on water courses to not leave any smell of footprints. Their prisoner seemed content with taking the hards way and kept silent but his escort- let's just say they weren't renown for their patience. Nevertheless they ventured in another forest. It was an ideal route for staying out of the way of military convoys or patrolling shinobi. There was just one tiny problem…

"Face it , Naruto, we're lost." For the twenty-seventh time that morning the blonde was examining an old map he carried with him, representing the Water Country. From the yellowish color of the paper it was an ancestral drawing, done by either a half blind or a retarded kid. That should have been clear only by the way the towns were represented, in miniature drawings. It was more like a painting for the ' Special' children art show.

"C'mon, we only have to find this large rock over here- he pointed to a place on the map- and we'll be out of here in no time." In fact he was just as tired and annoyed as the Hyuuga but, being the delegated 'navigator' he didn't want to loose his reputation- if he had one.

"Do you see any rock? Huh?! We've already climbed the damn tree ten times and the closest rock is fifty miles away."

"I don't get it, the map clearly shows a rock just where we are standing right now…"

"That looks more like a stain of food. The map is as much help right now as the plan of Tenkyo Imperial Palace." With a groan he punched one of the trees. Normally a shinobi would leave a decent crater on the trunk, but being bred and trained by the clan of Hyuuga, Mizuro despised heavy muscle training. Therefore his action only resulted with a bruise on his knuckles and a mute display of pain that lasted for a few minutes. Naruto looked too tired to laugh and suggested that they call it a day.

In a matter of minutes the tent was up, the area was secured by tags, connected with a string of chakra to Mizuro and all three sat, lotus position, eating their rations of berries, honey- collected in a painful manner- biscuits and dry, salt meat. They could only distinguish day from night by observing the degree of luminosity. The forest was so dense that even sunlight barely reached the soil, through the thick layer of leafs and branches. It was normal protocol that they sleep in the trees but after a very short reckon of the area- and the discovery of some rather large spiders- they settled for a nice, cold, humid , mundane shelter.

With that they went to sleep, forgetting to even place any sentinel, at least a shadow clone. It would prove to be a dangerous choice.

An hour later.

BANG! Naruto shifted from one side to another, no doubt dreaming of a warm, clean bed.

TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA! Half asleep he partially opened his eyes. Nothing unusual… the tent's roof was just colored in a shifting way, with many orange and red figures moving all around…just a mirage from the lack of energy

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM! The sequence o explosions triggered a reflex in his brain, alerting all the senses. In a second he was on his feet and with a flash he disappeared out of the ten and onto a branch high up over the rest. He could now see it clearly as his trained and nurtured eyes got used to the lack of light. It was an air-battle! A bout a dozen planes moved in long elliptic trajectories, or did close turns trying to corner each other. He distinguished the normal Kirigakure emblem on some of them but a couple had another element freshly added- a kunai in the middle of the four symbols of the Mist.

He was too distracted by looking at them, admiring the strange view that they posed, that of wooden and metal birds, to notice that one of them had been hit in the tail and came at him a high velocity. He barely dodged the flaming projectile that was left of the flying machine and watched it go down in a spectacular display of fire and metal. Upon impact it disintegrated into thousands of flaming wood or metal shards. It was only the high humidity of the soil and trees that prevented a full scale fire from starting.

The planes with the old emblem were loosing, that much was clear when three more were shot down and one last one decided to ditch the whole thing and took a course due east. The second group, instead of chasing him, decided to return steering to north-west. In the mean-while, Mizuro and the Kage had awakened as well and were examining the parts of the shot down airplane.

"Hey, old man" the Hyuuga addressed him" do you recognize this serial number OA-5597-KPT?"

"What's with that, Mizuro?"

"This is a special number given solely to one airplane upon assembly. It shows the current owner, series number and the last three letters are the name of it's airbase. So?"

"KPT is an isolated base west of Kirigakure, destined to be a defense center in case of a surprise air-land attack. It has been recently given a squad of it's own, of about twelve planes, but as you see their stock has been reduced a litlle."

"Mizuro" Naruto looked at his companion and away from the piece of wood he was holding" Those other planes head north-west, to the sea. One thing I know about planes is that they need a base somewhere to land and refuel. And if I recall right, there are no such bases from here to the ocean."

"The only ship capable of holding a track on it and carrying airplanes is the 'Stallion'

"What the F is going on?!" the blonds' question remained unanswered.

In another place, at another time.

Uchiha Orama, the academy instructor responsible for the seventh group,or the sighed heavily looking at his student's profiles. It was two in the morning and he still couldn't find a way to place them in well balanced three man squads. Taking another look he tried for the seventy-second time to get it right. One was a skilled in chakra control but wasn't reliable, another had some pretty advanced ninjitsu in his arsenal but no discipline and not even a bit of tactic sense. The last, well, he had a summoning contract already and some techniques on the border between Kinjutsu and Ninjutsu. He tended to emanate a lot of killing intent, being a liability rather than a reliable comrade.

He leaned closer to his desk in frustration as his head began to ache.

'Damn brats...why couldn't they just fail the exam...but then they would just stay on my nerves another year'

The teacher just sighed again the ones he referred to were on other than the most annoying students the academy would ever produce. The head of all pranks ,the anger-issued and the semi-psycho. And he had been stuck with them. They were the ones unbalancing the other teams due mostly to their personality and the way they acted upon an order. They were just a huge burden. Talented but with so many flaws in behavior that none could ever work with tehm

But then again why not place them in the same team. t would be unusual but it would give others the chance to pass the real test and maybe with a little bit of luck they would be sent away to another instructor after they fail.

'And I've got just the right guy for them'

Finally being done he moved towards his bedroom and crashing into his beed He was asleep before he even landed

THE NEXT DAY

The Konoha Ninja Academy was as always a lively place filled with young ninja hopefuls running around shouting incoherent things and chuunin teachers desperately trying and not succeeding at all to control their students.

The building was made of four main levels-the first one was for newly admitted pupils, the second with kids in the middle stage of training( that was for those between eight and ten years old) the third level for students in their last year (eleven and twelve years old) and the training area for taijutsu or low-level nijutsu. Academy students weren't taught any genjustu because of the complexity and chakra control necessary but it gave fairly good advice about them.

As I was saying the third level was for those in their last year. It detained eight class-room. The purpose of this story though resides in the seventh, corresponding to the 'seventh group'' belonging to Orama-sensei.

Unlike the rest of the school, even the rest of the third level classes, this one was quiet enough to bore the dead. The reason for this discipline didn't come from the inhabitant's good manners but rather from their fear. You see my dear readers in this group one of the students managed to scare the 'shit' out of the rest without even desiring to do so.

He was a pale skinned boy, with black long hair, yellow slited eyes and a white robe .The robe had on it's margins a green portion decorated with a strange symbols replicated again and again. The symbol was that of three commas pointed to a common spot-sort of like the Sharingan commas. The boy was named Orochimaru and as his name suggests it he was very fond of snakes. That combined with the rumors that he killed a student two years ago and his not so cheerful personality made his colleagues shiver in fear. Almoust all of them.

One that didn't fear Orochimaru at all was a blond girl with brown eyes and a blue robe named Tsunade .She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, still she didn't ever show any sign of the Senjuu clan bloodline, leading people to believe she had bean adopted .Her personality was far different from her grandfather-a kind and warm man .She was crazy in all the meanings this word ever had. She could be angered by one thing today and enjoy it tomorrow. She also was known for her explosive personality- like when she sticked tags all over the school.

Another one that didn't fear ,or better said didn't care about Orochimaru was Jiraya. Why didn't he care. Because he was always busy pulling pranks on teachers to notice him .He had blue eyes and an unusual white spiky hair .He wore a grey robe with red on the margins. In his entire school period he had made the staff chase after him more than twice a month, earning him what many shinobi got after years of practice- a 'nickname'- . He was called ' The Super-a-h'.

These three were the dread of all teachers. The entire staff thanked the gods that they passed the exams an hopped they would actually become genins or else...

Today was no different from other days only that it was the team announcing day. Today they would find out who would they work and spend a good part of their lives with a fellow shinobi of Konoha. Today their destiny would be sealed. Today...

(Jiraya throws a kunai at me-"Shut the up already they got it- that pierces my left leg.I show Jiraya the finger and tell him something about his mom)

As I was saying the newly promoted students awaited their teacher impatiently. By that I mean they were merely shifting their weight on the chairs quietly.

At twelve sharp Orama-sensei showed up in class and began the boring and stupid speech:

"Bla bla bla" one hour passes "bla bla" another hour and then finally the magic words are heard.

"Now lets's begin the team repartition. He slowly went trough six teams and reaching the seventh he gulped.

"Team seven will be composed of Yugato Orochimaru Koichi Tsunade and Kotaru Jiraya." Silence, ike a cemetery, like they have been told they would be forced to commit seppuku on the spot. Was their sensei suicidal or what?

"FUCK NO!"

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME YOU SEXIST BASTARD"

GLARE AND KILLING INTENT FROM THE THIRD ONE-

Konoha was in for the ride of it's life. Uchiha Orama had just opened Pandoras' box, or more like smashed it to a wall.

End!

Past mixes with present and future, characters change, enemies lurk in the shadows. Next on ' WoF: TPIC' – Conspiracy of the cherry blossom- Review or else the next update will be on Christmas Eve, 2009. Not joking, I'm tired of writing for ungrateful people, -sorry for those who did review-. You add it to your 'favorite story' list or 'story alert' but after reading it you just close the window and go on. I'm sick of this!


	12. ABladeInTheMist,Ch5:CherryBlossomConspir

I don't own Naruto

I don't own Naruto.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Five: Conspiracy of the Cherry Blossom

Mizuro became desperate as the bleeding wouldn't stop and the damned rain fell with renewed strength. It soaked his clothes to his skin, every drop of it hurting him. His medical supplies, the herbs he collected, all was useless now, all filled with that blasted water that the sky kept sending at him. He was wet from top to bottom as if he had jumped into a pool and stayed there for hours. His mind began to drift away. He was never good at all the calm exercises his family taught him when he was just an infant, he always relied on his carefree attitude in situations like these . Depression or dizziness had been strangers to him even with the job he had, even when he had been under heavy artillery fire in the Leaf-Cloud wars, even when that commando unit captured him and tortured his body and mind for hours. He was a strong person in the psychological department.

But now he was tearing down. Mizuro couldn't remember when it began, maybe it was when the first genjutsu was cast, or when felt the chakra wave. To a normal Hyuuga the word genjutsu is a joke, a pathetic excuse for a technique. To him it was the same. Or better said it had been the same an hour ago. Byakugan eyes could see trough anything made of chakra, anything. But this wasn't a problem of sight, this was a problem of hearing. Sonic illusions were supposed to be a myth, a legend made up by wanna-be legends. People who can roar, stunning their opponents, a childish fantasy. Or a painful truth.

At the first notes of the song he didn't feel a thing, he dismissed it as an idiotic idea of an arrogant shinobi, as proud as to give away his position. But when he began to vomit uncontrollably and feel the earth shaking he realized his mistake.

Sound is basically a wave, or a set of waves moving at high speed. Chakra induced sounds were therefore hard to notice unless you are extremely cautious and aware of your environment and if you have a chakra observing kekkei genkai activated. Even if you see it you will be unable to avoid it unless you somehow teleported in an area trought which it's already passed, if it's a single wave, or far way from it, so that when it reaches you it has already lost it's frequency and original momentum to be undetectable. None of this was the case with our Hyuuga . As a result he was rendered useless, letting Naruto deal with whoever or whatever had ambushed them.

As if the after-effects of a genjutsu weren't enough, fate had also thrown in a incredibly annoying rain and a badly wounded Mizukage, who, if he wasn't to receive immediate treatment, would died from blood-loss. The medic-nin side of Mizuro, the one who had been dormant since the last time he had watched a cartoon with a doctor in it woke up and said ' WHAT THE F' before fainting too. All he could do was carry the man under a tree were the water wouldn't affect him as much and try to stop the bleeding. With all his gear so wet he only had some improvised bandages from a shirt he kept underneath his equipment and had been spared, mostly, from water.

He tried to activate his eyes, willing the remaining bits of chakra he had into his coils and up to the complex anatomical and energetic mechanism that was the Byakugan. His effort was repaid with an unsettling feeling of blindness. Unsettling for someone who had had plenty of rest and a nice warm meal before. To a hungry, tired and confuse Hyuuga, it was maddening. The pain of keeping his bloodline limit avtivated, combined with the lack of view and the cold – was it cold or hot, he couldn't tell- water that seemed to ignore his protective clothing and directly fall on his skin, made him stop and lay with his back to the tree.

A superhuman effort made him move his hand and reach for the other man's neck, searching for the jugular. Faint, irregular pulse. The man would only survive for an hour. Twenty minutes more if he was very lucky. At least he was unconscious. That way he would go painlessly, to a better or worse place, only his past deeds would decide. Mizuki didn't have that luxury. The pain he once thought to be gone had returned with renewed strength, paralyzing him where he laid. He could not move an inch, not even a finger. Sprayed on the ground, with the water level of five inches below him and an old tree acting as a last shield against the entire nature, one tree was his only ally when the whole world only planned his demise. But he didn't need any more. With his last strength he muttered a few words to the friend that desperately tried to keep him safe. His lips moved as a barely audible sound escaped his throat

' Thank you…' and his eyelids closed, his organism unable to take the stress anymore went into shutdown, it's last energy reserves consumed by what he once did without even noticing. His mind, however, acted on instinct, and began displaying bits of information, one by one molding into patterns. Things that were, things that are, and thing that should have happened if it wasn't for…No! It was too painful. His thoughts drifted away from that memory and onto another. He entered dream-state.

Tenkyo, midnight.

Nobunaga twisted the small feather between his fingers, careful not to damage it, looking for any clue, any sign that might unravel the chaos in his mind. Being a rational and tactical person, whenever he learned something, he stored it in a special compartment of his brain, in the section he believed was most appropriate for it. Whether it was a joke, a gossip, or an obvious fact, it did not matter. Knowledge was power, that was his motto, an idea inspired from his father, the late general Shark-Tooth, as he was nicknamed.

In years of studying various facts on the same bench in the garden of his house he had acquired a nearly photographic memory, an useful feat for a boy whose only dream was t join the Officers Academy in Konoha. He analyzed things by geometrically placing them in a tri-dimensional scheme in his mind. Most did not understand but that was just because they were ignorant. One of his teachers, the history one to be precise, after another humiliating chess game on his side remarked that he was more of a computer than a man.

Then why couldn't he sort this thing out? Why was it all in a shadow for him? Was he walking on the right path or was he on a course to be destroyed?

Fact 1: A man broke into the palace, an incredible feat, but with no real reason.

Fact 2: His friend Saizo, after a few days of this incident, began acting more and more strange, disappearing for periods of time that got longer and longer, finally being discovered dead.

Fact 3: Feathers wee found on both of the boddies. They belong to the same bird, or at least that was what all the specialists told him. But that bird was extinct for more than a century.

Fact 4: How come the Imperial family were not alarmed by this at all? Two murders so close to them would be a perfect reason to be concerned yet only the Daimyo showed some interest, fairly moderate.

It was like an unsolvable puzzle, with only four pieces available to him, from which he had to deduce the rest. Another gaze out the window confirmed his theory- he was too tired, now he saw two moons in the cloudless sky. He didn't even notice when sleep took over him, and he dreamt of feathers, lots and lots of feathers…

Outside, two guards patrolled the courtyard. "Whish this damn rain would just stop already."

Another place, another time

He was in a room, that was certain. At least that's what he thought, but if he tried to look at the walls closer he would see them shifting, color and form. The ceiling and floor were the same. His head hurt.

And he was gone. He now stood near a creek, watching a girl walk on water- that wasn't possible, right?-

The creek disappeared, replaced by a large mansion. He was in the courtyard, training. He saw the world around him and yet he didn't.

A chuunin, he couldn't tell by his clothes, the way he moved or anything else, he just knew he was a chuunin gave him a forehead protector with a strange swirl pattern in it.

The girl from earlier, Anna, he knew her name, just like that, bent a little and kissed him. But why?

"…so the eyes show you chakra. Like they show me light."

"Yes" he sad not knowing what that was about. What eyes?

"But wouldn't too much chakra blind you."

"You would need extremely large amounts" again he talked without knowing why. "Like the whole village gathered in one spot, a tiny dot.

He was holding her bridal style. He felt tears bur again the reason evaded him. HIM. Who was he? WAS he even something to be described in a word? If yes, what would that word be?

Is he or is he not? WHY? Did the fact that he asked these question made him an existing 'thing'? The whole concept of existence, the purpose of it. He had to know. He had to convince himself he WAS. And a faint memory- he HAD memories!- enlightened him in a second, in the time between one second and the next. A sentence "I call him Mizuro, because he is a calm as a that pond over there."

And then it all came back. The pain, the happiness, the anger, all of it. And more. Now he knew. He knew why it was so hard to move. Why his wounds hurt so much. Why air-tight cases were full of water from the rain. The question that followed the answer was inevitable

"But Fuuton and Suiton are too different to be combined!?…" and a flash of yellow covered his view.

End!

Not too much but it's past midnight and my head hurts like hell. All that metal conflict thing got to me and now I'm dead tired. Ungrateful brats, you put it in the alert or favorite section but don't review at all. He'll keep on writing, why should my review count. It important to me to know I'm not doing this for nothing so please review, just do it, tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, if you liked it. Just tell me, please.


	13. ABladeInTheMist,Ch6:BattleOfTheOceans

I don not own Naruto

I don not own Naruto.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Six : Battle of the Oceans

The kunai was grabbed in less than a second from it's pouch, on the right leg of the carrier and faster than his own eyes could perceive, thrown away in a spear-like manner, aiming for the neck of another person. Normally, such an obvious attempt would be easy to dodge or repel, but not this time. It had taken the shinobi exactly twelve minutes of high-speed maneuvering to reach a blind spot on his opponents defense. He had jumped, dashed, somersaulted and fell through dense foliage, breaking some branches on the way but he finally had done it. And still for nothing, as the enemy simply bent at the last moment, letting it sail harmlessly away.

"Damn."

The level of fighting grew more and more intense as chakra was added to the muscles of the arms and legs. Blood flow increased, the liquid in their arteries filled with new particles generated by the complex jutsu both were using, feeding the tissue and making it more resistant, enabling it to withstand more stress and tense faster than normal. Blocking a hit was out of the question now, any blow that landed would be lethal. Dodging was employed.

While the other one preferred keeping himself as low as possible, choosing sweeps and punches as his main weapons, Naruto seemed to choose high leaps and over-head kicks. Their Taijutsu styles were so different one from another that it was impossible to predict the outcome of one lone punch. And because of the nature of his chakra, Naruto could keep his moves secret even from a full-fledged Sharingan user. Not even the strange justu the Mist nin had used earlier could harm him although not the same thing could be said about Mizuro and the elder Kage.

What was it. Simple. Chakra infused rain-drops. A rain of almost nothing but pure chakra. A shinobi with well developed coils would be finished by a foreign chakra entering his system – every person has a special signature of chakra. It is the unique frequency of the chakra he molds. His coils would not be able to conduct a higher or lower frequency chakra, it would only tear them apart. The Hyuuga are known to use this, temporally severing certain tenketsu.-, that was the idea of the technique. In it's area of effect it would neutralize any chakra user. It was a ninjutsu meant for large groups of enemies, not two ANBU and a hostage Kage. Just a waste, a gargantuan waste of chakra. With his perception of energy in the environment, not a perfect one but still, the blond detected some chakra that was simply wasted, released with the one for the technique but not used at all. Only genin, those with poor control, did such things yet here he faced at least an elite jounin. ' This guy will be done for in a few minutes at this rate.'

But he was still up and running and experience began to put in it's two cents. As strong as he was, the jinchuuriki could not hope to out-smart a seasoned warrior like this one. As a consequence of this fact, bruises appeared on his body. He was on the defense and both knew that.

At last, after a spinning combo, the man thrust a palm aimed for his hearth. Only luck, combined with a clear view- thank you, Danzou-sensei- and reflexes born with Sai's training made him grab it and send on another trajectory, passing his by his right side. The momentum made the rest of the body follow, leaving his flank exposed.' NOW'. A vicious knee to the ribs and the man was flew away into a tree trunk. The rain seemed to lessen a little but he managed to get.

"Oy, that really hurt!"

"Like I care. You were about to do the same thing to me. Plus, it's was a close one" 'Too close'. Deciding to rest for at least a few minutes, the kiri-nin used a different approach.

" Aren't ya little short for an ANBU. Or has a special unit of midgets bin founded?"

"Fuck you, I'm not a midget. I'm as short as my age implies." Only a an idiot would let himself be provoked. And it just so happened that there was one right there.

"Fancy words, leaf-nin but you wanna make me think ya ar' just a kid." He drew a sword from his back, a double-bladed one. The design was simple, nothing fancy like many would use on their swords – cough, fic writers with a love for cliché cough-. No fangs, no kanji for death, blood, hell, no seals, no skulls on the handle, just a sword with two blades –hard to imagine a character like that huh?-

In response, Naruto took of the ceramic mask, revealing his face to the world. Cerulean eyes, six whiskers and a grin." I was not lying. I am still an infant, merely academy age."

"Odin's --. Eight years old an' ANBU already. And I thought Kirigakure was tought. You some sort of genetic experiment or somethin'?" Now he was a bit intrigued, but he didn't show it.

"No, just your average ROOT" true to his word he took out the tanto on his back. He never actually trained with it, just carried it around to look cool, but he wanted to make an impression. All he got was a laughter. Tough crowd.

"Ha ha ha. Ya right! ANBU! Not ter first time I heard tha…ha ha ha ha!"

"Hey! I mean it. I am an ANBU. Who the hell would give a kid this uniform and weapon?"

"Presumin' yer sayin' ter truth, how come you haven't showed any fancy ninjutsu or genjustu till now?" 'Let's see if he gets it right. I'll know what he's made of.'

"Only a fool reveals his weapon to the prey just to show his strength when he actually should concentrate on capturing it. Something like that"

The mans face became serious. "So you are who you say you are." 'So Kisame wasn't so unique after all.'

"And much more. And you don't have an accent do you." Both began to grin. Pretty stupid thing to do but this is Naruto and Mysterious Swordsman we're talking about.

"I treat people with this kind of respect only when I'm about to summon death. Few shinobi or samurai have died by my hands because few were worthy of it. You have power but you lack two things- natural talent and experience. The first may be ignored but the later is crucial. And by the way, your friend seems to have passed out and then come back."

"He'll be fine, Mizuro always finds strength inside him. Strength to help his comrades. That is the Will of Fire." Naruto said with emphasis on the last three words." But a mist-nin can't understand that. You think we are weak, but when we gather we are undefeatable. The Great Wars have proven it." Now he was getting into a long argument, only to buy some time.

"You speak of union, of comradely, jinchuuriki? Yes, I recognize you." He confirmed Naruto's shock." Demon containers have their special section in the bingo-book, Uzumaki Naruto. You were thought to be dead, but it seems you were just hidden under the wing of the ANBU and behind the white mask you carry. People have hated you for years and you think them as comrades?"

"I don't give a fuck about civilians. They really don't matter. No Konoha ninja has ever wronged me and for that I will always stay loyal to them and the village they represent. And part of that loyalty means killing you and getting that old guy somewhere saf…" he was interrupted as three kunai launched with a casual flick o the wrist hit the Mizukage in the abdomen." Well, now I've only got to kill you. Though I'm shocked you failed your mission on purpose."

"That old wreck is not what he used to be. He should have been assassinated sooner, during his visit to the front lines but you guys intervened. We had to keep the façade and so someone had to find you. A Fifth Mizukage has already taken the the office."

"Damn, you guys are good !"

"And now the whole Water Country is after you, A-class nins. I'm officially just a man sent to collect the bounty, but there are many more behind me. Missing-nin, ronnin, mercenaries, bounty hunters. You guys are pretty popular."

"…"

"And you want to know the best part? Now Konoha is being accused by many other countries for this kidnapping and the unprovoked aggression on Water Country."

"We already justified our actions. We are aiding the Rebels, we fight against the discrimination of bloodline users."

"You are so naïve. This has nothing to do with kekkei genkai. Of course that's the official position of the Hidden Mist, but not the real thing. It was just a way to get rid of politically dangerous people for some of the clans, rival shinobi and samurai. It got out of hand when they escaped our assassination attempts but it's almost over. And when it is, Hidden Leaf will be the next target."

"So what? We already won three Wars, we can do it again."

"Naïve little kid…" he sighed and dashed forward, aiming for the neck. The blade was blocked by the knife. He leapt away from the danger, having his chest exposed. Thirty-six hand signs later, all done in a few seconds : " Suiton: Suiryuudan no justu"

"Katon: Karyuu Endan" Flames met water, vaporizing it but could not stop the jet of water. It finally over-powered the Dragon Flame and went for the blond." Douton: Douryuuheki" He vomited some dirt and in an instant he was sitting atop a seven-meter wall. His opponent was gone.

"Right, left, back, up…that means he is…underground. No. Then where the …" Multiple jets of water appeared from the pool that had formed at the base of the wall, piercing the wall and collapsing it. Large fragments of rock crashed into the water , splashing it all over the place. The enemy was still nowhere to be found. ' Did he use a clone? ' He had no time to think as a kunai implanted in his right leg and he fell of the branch and into the mud.

"Not fats enough." The voice seemingly came from everywhere" I'm not as slow as Takeshi and his genin."

The pain from his leg grew in intensity but he couldn't concentrate in healing it. The fox seemed to have problems molding it's own chakra. Sai warned him about that. _" When you use the yellow chakra, your coils are placed under a certain amount of stress. The chakra of the Bijuu is far stronger than that of normal shinobi but your own seems to be on par with it when it comes to frequency. You are unable to use both just yet since you have not mastered the molding, but you can switch from one to another without any damage. Eventually you ma be able to convert them into a single one. In theory…"_

He had to choose- either heal himself, or remain alert to the invisible threat. He choose alertness.

A barrage of shuriken descended upon him, but his tanto made quick work of them. It was a diversion as three clones of unknown type surrounded him. He bent his knees and jumped, only to be followed by them. Apparently the were solid. And the identical swords in their hands had the same property. Six hand-seals :" Katon: Hosenka" And the clones turned to water.

"Ku ku ku. So you still have something in you after all. But it wont be enough, leaf-nin. 'He's right. I'm too tired to mold chakra. I've already used three shunshin and mid-level katon and douton. But it won't end like this." He reached the ground and closed his eyes.

"I need to find him and force a forth shunshin. But where is he. Since I can hear his voice he should be rather close. He isn't in the trees, he ain't underground, where the HELLIS HE.'

"_Naruto-kun, treachery and deceit are the main qualities of a great ninja."_

"_It's no honorable to hide…"_

"_The utmost accomplishment is not to attain one-hundred victories in one-hundred battles. The utmost accomplishment is to win a single battle without fighting."_

"_It's still dis-honorable, Dan-jii-san"_

"_Fool. Honor only matters when you fight for yourself. Go and waste your life if you want to but if others rely on you, is it more honorable to act upon a moral code or to do all you can to help them. You are a part of the Hidden Leaf, you have fellow ninja who relay on you. Would you betray them for something as shifting and unclear as honor?"_

"_No"_

"_Then prove it"_

'If you wanna play dirty, then get ready. Hope these work.' Five hand-seals: "Mokuton: Forest Genesis" roots began to sprout from underground, covering the entire clearing. About five meters from him, the tall, thin figure of is opponent appeared out of thin air. His blue trench-coat was ragged and on his revealed chest there were a few bruises and cuts. The dark pants and assorting boots were in a deplorable state. Mud and leafs filled the short brown hair and his eyes carried a look of surprise and a bit of fear. His sword, as his whole body stood still as the roots immobilized them.

"What is this jutsu? What have you done to me?"

"Mokuton. A secondary element obtained by the mixture of water and earth chakra. This was the technique our First Hokage used to end an era of wars and create the Hidden Leaf. I'm nowhere as skilled as him, it's only a fragment of the mastered form."

"But I was under the impression you specialized in earth and fire?"

"You were fooled by appearances. I can use any element I want."

"Does it have anything to do with that yellow energy you emanated before?"

"Let's do a fair trade. You tell me about your _bloodline limit_ and I'll tell you about mine."

"Seems fair, since I'm trapped." 'Gotta figure a way out of this' "Who goes first?"

"Do the honors."

-sigh-" My ears have a different anatomy from yours. The ear-drum is sensible to a vaster array of air fluctuations and is made to be more resistant to strong ones. I have three sets of vocal chords and I have the ability to add chakra to the sounds I make, turning every word I say into some sort of genjutsu." A tanto was pressed to his neck" Don't worry ,I'm not using right now. I can manipulate sound, I can copy it's properties, with a very complex seal tough, and give them to other objects. In the final form…I" his voice lowered" I can transform myself in a sonic wave, and travel with 340 m/sec. The speed of sound. Mach-1"

"That explains the genjutsu and how you reached us so fast. But can your sound waves determine the frequency of ones' chakra." The swordsman nodded in response." Then use your perception to read mine. No funny tricks." The next five minutes were spent in silence, both immobile, by choice or by constraint. The blond did not know whether to wake him up or let him be. Finally the swordsman opened his eyes and spoke.

"Astounding. The frequency is higher than I have ever seen. No wonder you have so many elements at your disposal. That shunshin you used was faster than normal.

"Still not good enough. What is your name?"

"Erik Byrkanson."

"And what affiliation do you have?"

"Hidden Mist, The Seven Shinobi Swordsmen to be more precise."

"How come you're not with the rebels? I thought that after a failed coup d-etat you normally get executed."

"I did not associate with the traitors. All of them fled the village, leaving me alone, the last Swordsman to remain loyal to the Hidden Mist. My friends..."

_The thin boy was alone in the training area, trying to cut the damn log in half. All he got were bruises on his hands and tiredness. The large sword with two blades was becoming heavier and heavier with each attack but he refused to give up._

'_Saigo-sensei trusts me. She knows I can do it, I'm a chuunin now. I'll never be one of the Swordsmen if I stop now." A new attempt at the offending log, but again it remained untouched. Not even a scratch on the wooden surface. Erik collapsed on the ground feeling the sweat begin to form on his skin._

_Suddenly, a large boy of about his age, carrying a bundle of bandages twice his height landed on top of the post, grinning maniacally. "Ne, Erik-kun. Not giving up so fast are you."_

"_Shut up, Kisame, I'm exhausted."_

"_Oho. So the fearless __**chuunin **__has finally reached his limit fighting a post with a shock repelling seal on it. Come on man, you've got to set an example for the rest of us" he said in a fake ceremonious tone" The Seven Swordsmen's brave leader…who will lead us to…victory" he finally cracked into a mad laugh, holding his belly and letting the sword fall downs. "Oh that was a good."_

"_Oh, shut up." He said annoyed at being interrupted from his…crucial rest without which training would not be possible…yeah._

"_So you got vest the vest, huh? Figures since you're the only one who made such a show in the finals. Zabuza-chan won't be bragging about his 'super abilities'_

"_Would have won if it were you fighting." Another boy, with sharpened teeth and a huge zanbato also materialized out of the mist. Unlike Kisame, he could reach the handle easier, being taller._

"_But it wasn't me. It was the brand chuunin…" both fell down on their backs laughing._

_Twenty minutes later._

"_So now that you're a chuunin, you've got a bigger paycheck than ours. You've officially been named the drink supplier of the Seven." Erik groaned. He knew their drinking habits well._

"_Come out of there Raiga, Houzuki. You're pathetic at hiding, you know that." The two joined the others also laughing._

"_Seriously now, congats for the title. I guess you can train with ' Mornning Mist' now._

"_What about you guys. You're all carrying your senseis' sword. Do you have permission?"_

_Voices from the mist reached them. "Momochi, where the hell is my sword?. When I find you you'd better be ready, you damn brat !" a rough voice of a man._

"_Kisame-chan. Have you been playing with Samehada?" this one was of a woman, gentle, but with a clear touch of violence hidden in it."_

"_Raiga, you should have told mommy you wanted to play with the swords, I would have given them to you. "_

"_Houzuki, I don't need to say anything. You know you're as good as dead so why waste any words?"_

" I am sorry Erik-bushi, but I must end your days. Any poems, like that comrade of yours?"

"No. I know how to die like a man." A minute later he felt a sharp blow trough his shoulder, a sword reaching his hearth. "Take…my sword…" and he died. At first he thought death to be a different sensation, maybe a light or two valkyries . In any case he did not expect to wake up in a sewer with water in it, a large cage and a man sitting at a table , apparently preparing another game of chess.

A voice- he saw a huge fox talking but couldn't process that – came from the cage. " So we've got another one joining our little club."

"Hey" the other one said "want any ramen?"

He fainted. "Noob" both ancient demon-fox and jounin said. "Hey, let's write on his face."

"Good thinking, mortal"

Mysterious Organization Base in Rain Country

"So, what news from Water Country. Have the latest convoys managed to pass trough the blockade?"

"Negative, Uchiha-sama. The Fire fleet is doing a good job." Even though it was bad news, al of people at the round table seemed uninterested.

"Well then, we have no choice but to abandon our 'allies' to the hands of fate, and the mercy of Uchiha Itachi. Sad, but with no real significance for us. As long as none of those shipments are linked to Rain we are safe."

"I already suggested" a bitter voice said from the opposite side" that we should stop this shameful strategy right here and move against Fire. With our equipment, we can capture Tenkyo in a week. Hidden Leaf could pose a problem but in the end we shall emerge victorious."

"Even though you are a missing-nin, you still hold hatred for the Leaf. You and Hidden Stone failed to win once because you are narrow-minded. Konoha is stronger than ever now, it has ties with two other Great Villages, if we count Mist, and four small ones. A war declaration now would mean destruction, Tsuchikage-san, or should I say, former Tsuchikage. It will take years to match their power, to _match_ it, and that if we do not consider a possible growth in their military power. Look at that boy, Itachi, a general at his age."

"So are we supposed to just wait and hope for the better ?!"

"Ah, but you must listen to my own report first. I have, with a great deal of pain and stealth, made a gap in the careful planned and maintained Imperial Palace security. Colonel Nobunaga is under a genjutsu, the leader of the garrison is dead an replaced with an incompetent fool and most important, our sleeper agent has begun her mission. In a few years –yes we still have lost of work ahead of us- we will be the real rulers of the Fire Country.

End!

The conspiracy is revealed. Meanwhile, Mizuro is badly hurt and Naruto is exhausted, will they reach safety in time or die in the wilderness of Water Country?

Should I receive too few reviews, the next chapter may be the last. Character death possible, It's all up to you.


	14. ABladeInTheMist,Ch7:Bijuu

I don't own Naruto or any other manga, movie, book whos' contets may appear in this fiction

I don't own Naruto or any other manga, movie, book whos' contets may appear in this fiction. You hear that?! I ain't going down without a fight.

I'll be writing this longer than originally planned, stick with me if you are patient enough.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Seven- Bijuu

At first, Naruto didn't know what to think of the situation he was in. It sure was weir to be dead, seeing that he could neither open his eyes, neither feel anything around him than the softness of a soft 'something' almost surrounding him. He couldn't move any of his limbs, he could barely believe he wasn't juts crazy and that thing was so soft compare to the hard roots he had summoned to capture the swordsman and eventually served as a an improvised bed. He could not remember when he became unconscious, all he knew was that he was sort of awake for about five or six minutes. An almost in-human effort later and he opened both his eyelids and he regretted as his retina was not constricted enough to handle all that light.

It took him a minute or two but he manage to adjust his eyes just enough to see some of the surrounding area. As he suspected he had been placed in a bed, a very soft one that is, he never liked that. Back in the Root HQ he insisted on having a solid mattress and when he trained with Sai he choose the rockiest locations for his sleeping bag. Sleeping on a hard surface kept him vigilant, a discovery he had made years ago when he was still in the orphanage and his roommate Yoshi played annoying pranks on him in the dead of night. Not that he didn't do the same.

And then he remembered the fact that he hadn't seen Yoshi since he was taken in by the Danzou and found his strange powers. The people at the orphanage must have searched for him for hours, knowing that it was October 10th and he may be in danger. And another of Sais' stupid lectures came to his mind from the realm of the past.

"_We, Naruto-kun are part of a secret military faction that a selected few know about, the Root ANBU."_

"_What is ANBU, and what is the Root? Is it like a different village or something?"_

"_No, no, the ANBU are an order within the Hidden Leaf formed of elite ninja that do extremely dangerous missions on a regular basis. The Root division has the job of dealing with external threats, as possible invasions or assassination attempts on a Leaf citizen."_

"_Cool."_

"_Our identies are kept a secret, we exist underground supporting the great tree that is Konoha. We use fake names in joint missions with other ninja than our own and we are under the direct command of the Hokage like rest of the Special Tactics and Assassination Squad."_

"_Are we really a secret? I mean aren't there any people who sees us without a mask, like when we are born. Or the people from the orphanage that looked after me ?"_

"_Your disappearance has been covered. We used the story that you died in an accident, we began a fake investigation, we planted fake clues which show that an old building collapsed with you in it. Most of the Hidden Leaf and the shinobi world think you dead, only high-ups were told the thruth."_

_For some reason, the blond felt uncomfortable. He was strangely afraid of this whole thing and could not understand. It was all for his own good, right?_

Returning thoughts back to the main issue there. So the mattress was soft, meaning they would try to break him in a sneaky way, pretending to be his friends and treating him nicely. He open to them because he would feel he could trust them. ' But they wont't get me with that'

The room he was in right now was no larger than 3/3/2 meters and contained what looked like an office with lots of papers and writing tools it. A small, wooden table held a few books on it and there was a small stove with an improvised chimney. Two windows filled the room with light, both near to the desk. He would probably try to get up and explore his surroundings but as he tried to move all his muscles protested, sending waves of pain to his brain. He was either tired, either constrained by a very complex genjutsu. Damn interrogators!

"I wouldn't move if I were you kid, your body is weakened by the chakra you used back there." A man with a short, stuffed, with beard and hair to match it came into the shack, for lack of a better term. He wore greenish robes and a warm smile brightened his face." You were in a coma when I found you, stuck in a bunch of roots."

"Oh, really" he grinned, afraid of what the man might say next.

"Yes. And strangely, your chakra was flowing through them. I only know one man that could do that and he's dead. He's been like that for half an century."

"Wait a minute, how do you know what chakra is, old-man, are you from Hidden Mist?"

"No, not quite. Though I was once part of it. Right now I'm considered dead by my former comrades."

"Why?" he forgot all about an interrogation as he sensed he had hit a sensible spot.

"Let's just say the Bloody Mist isn't what it was before."

"Wasn't it Hidden Mist?"

"You're too young to know that, but you will someday. I won't tell you. Back to where we were, how were you able to summon those roots Uzumaki-kun?"

"Damn! Does every ninja in the world know me? I'm DEAD, WHAT THE HELL?"

"Apparently, you're not" he said with a smile." Some of us bother to read every edition of the Bingo Book and some are very careful with details. You were careless to loose your mask." This sparked a rather slow chain of thoughts in Naruto's minds, ending with a shocked statement." Where is my comrade and the old man?"

"Who? I didn't see anyone near you except the Swordsman, and he was dead. Another awkward thing, but please answer my question."

"It's a Bloodline Limit, nothing to be said."

"Are you related to the Senjuu?"

"Who?"

"I thought so, no one remembers the old days anymore. Maybe one did live to this day, although you don't look like a Koichi either. So who are you?"

"Why should I answer? For all I know you're my enemy and want to extract info from me."

"I treated your wounds so it's only fair that I know who I housed."

"I'm an Uzumaki, I've got no clan, I've got no relatives at all, I was always alone. I have this bloodline from my deceased parents, whoever they were." He was starting to get angry, how was he supposed to know about something no one ever told him about.

"Do you know where the Hidden Whirlpool was?"

"What the hell is the Hidden Whirl…thing and what does it have to do with me?!"

"Calm down or your wounds will open again and it'll hurt. A lot. I'm sorry if I was indiscrete but curiosity got the best of me. Hidden Whirlpool was a ninja village, destroyed three decades ago by a huge cataclysm. Uzumaki was a known name there."

"Who where they? Where they strong? Are they still around?"

"I don't know" he stopped the barrage of questions" all that I could dig out was that the died in the tragedy, they were the first to do so, actually but it all stops here."

"Oh…" his face sank into the bed sheets, his hope crushed." Cheer up mate, your still alive. And that means they still exist in you. When you get back to Hidden Leaf, you better ask a girl or two out, you'd put their souls to rest." Then it occurred to him that he was talking to a child under twelve." Then again, better postpone that for now."

"Where are we?"

"In my humble residence, the one I currently own and live in."

"Do you have others? Where are they? And where exactly is this place, I don't remember seeing your shack in my journey."

"You're a pretty inquisitive kid" he eyed the boy suspiciously" And don't give that I'm an ANBU, I most know everything, I'm an elite speech, I'm sick of it. Get some sleep, it'll be getting dark soon anyway. In the morning you'll be able to walk around and see for yourself. It was not an advice, it was an order and he obeyed it without protest, being tired from the brief conversation. The entities in his mind, however, had a debate going on.

"I don't get it, I thought it was a no-risk technique, but still, here I am." Erik said in an annoyed tone." The man assured us it was completely safe for us."

"It seems he was wrong" the other man said" the link never disappeared, and given the nature of the chakra, it's quite normal. I think all of 'them' are connected, so we'll be meeting old friends soon enough. But how could he make such a mistake?"

"**He was mistaking me for a weakling and that cost him and you alike." **A certain bijuu put his two cents in.

"Aw, shut up fur-ball, you're still in that cage. For now you're fate is he same as ours so keep it shut." Erik was really angry now." It's all your fault anyway, going all berserk and stuff, now ten people are in for a big surprise. We don't know where they are so we can't warn them."

" **Such a strong village and still worthless. ****Thirteen idiots, that's what you were and the biggest one went by the name of…"** he stopped his insult as Naruto entered the sewer with a curious gaze." 'sup people?"

"Just a dumb ass talking. Why are you here, you should rest?" As on cue , the Nine-Tails retreated to a distant corner and drifted to sleep, apparently bored by the conversation that was about to start.

"Erik-nii-san, what's the deal with your sword? Does it do any flashy tricks?" The man winced, remembering something really painful that occurred recently.

"Don't let her hear you saying that, you'll regret it. The blasted thing was so damn spoiled by sensei that I've been thinking of throwing it away! Very arrogant and full of herself, you don't know what you got yourself into. As for any powers, well, I never found out, and sensei pulled a fast one on me when I asked him about it."

"Morning Mist doesn't sound so scary, bet I can control her easily." Saizo choked on his drink for a few seconds.

"Did you just say Morning-" his low mumble interrupted before he revealed anything that he should not.

"Shut up, Saizo, he'll figure it out. Be careful never to insult her she'll screw all your control and strategy just like that."

"Nope, still not impressed." He said confident of his superior skills over a two hundred years old sword and a member of the Seven, even a dead but not quite dead one." I can deal with anything cause' I'm" the two repeated in a bored chorus _" The great sage, Uzumaki Naruto"_

"And don't you forget it!" They rolled their eyes.

"One stupid entry in the bingo-book as a D-CLASS JINCHUURIKI and he's a sage already. Why does the world hate me? Kid, we're both in the Book and with a higher level."

"But were you there when you were six. I'm gonna be the best. Believe it!"

"One more word and you die…Let's get serious here for a second."

"…"

"How much do you know about the Tailed Beasts? Anything at all, even legends about them."

"Dan-jii-san said they are huge ma…ma…- he struggled with the word- masses of chakra of very high frequency, the highest of them all, except the planet itself. They are more like wild beasts, that's the form they take, going all crazy and stuff…Or at least that's what he said but it was more complicated and I fell asleep." He was knocked down by a punch in the head.

"BAKA! As a jinchuuriki you should pay more attention then anybody when learning about bijuu. They are ancestral entities, way older than we can imagine. The amount of wisdom you could acquire is incredible, not to mention the power you would have…"

"Never thought you were a power addict, Saizo-kun." Erik smirked" You were mostly calm and gentle with those around you. Then again, we all have our three hearts and six faces, don't we?"

"Erik, this was the purpose of…"

"BE QUIET!" Both were wide-eyed and apparently agitated as if there was an imminent danger right next to them." You are wrong and 'he' was wrong too."

"Huh, what are you saying? Who is 'he'?"

" I guess you are bound to fin out given your status, better be the ugly truth than a beautiful lie. He is the most evil person ever to walk this realm of mortals. I won't say his name, it would be a sacrilege, even though he passed away." Erik's awareness grew as the blond child looked confused at him and the Leaf Jounin, trying to understand something.

"What's a 'sacrilege?"- smack- smack- " Ow, my head! And what does it have to do with me."

"Everything. You're tired now, go and sleep."

The next day in the man's shack.

The blond Root struggled to his feet, trying to maintain his balance as every nerv his body told him very inappropriate things. The old man watched him with a small smile as he finally stood up only to meet the cold wooden floor.

"Why don't you rest, you've got enough time to walk around later, wouldn't you rather have some breakfast."

"NO! I told you I have a mission and I must complete it…augh! Damn floor."

"Yeah, about a captured Mizukage and a Hyuuga that were accompanying you. I already told he is dead, I found him this morning with severe chakra burns all over his body as well as a few stab wounds. As for a Hyuuuga of the Core Army, it's like he was never there. Right now you should…- AAAA! My head!-… rest and then get back to your lines, you're just a kid, not a Kage."

"But I'm ready, I can do this. I'm an ANBU."

"That status was only meant to protect you, normally you should have stayed in Konoha until you are older. But if you're here I might as well give you a helping hand. Fellow jinchuuriki are hard to find nowdays, very secretive we are."

As if it was an accusation, Naruto pointed at the man with an angry/surprised glare" You're a jinchuuriki too?! Which one do you have?"

"The four tailed Bijuu is my companion, not my property, something you must learn."

"Why? Aren't they evil? Won't they consume us with their evil?"

"You are naïve kid. They merely do what they desire, be it good or bad, and only for fun. For them we are only insects, puppets or, in rare cases, pupils. However, when they are bind to a human host, they consider that person of almost equal status. If you will ask the Fox you will learn all about the Code."

"Zzzzz…some more please….zzzzzz"

"Baka! Pay attention!- smack-"


	15. ABladeInTheMist,Ch8:My companion?

At the moment I do not own any manga, anime or book that may be linked to this fiction

At the moment I do not own any manga, anime or book that may be linked to this fiction. Neither do I own cartoons.

A Blade In The Mist Chapter eight- My companion?

" Yes kid, your companion. That's what the fox really is. Your are not a jailor you're a blessed ninja, one who can wield extraordinary chakra reserves. Understand that and you'll one day be feared by all."

"Huh" Naruto and the man stood near a rivers, lotus position, the latter giving a confusing speech to the first.

"In this land, we ninja are seen as demi-gods. We have incredible abilities, abnormal senses, we are capable of doing what others only dream of. The strongest in our ranks automatically become myths- it is the case of the Legendary Three, or their sensei-. The current Hokage is nicknamed ' The God of all shinobi'. All our existence revolves around violence, we are defined by our capability to be as violent as possible. A ninja must acquire any kind of strength he can of he wishes to survive. Therefore you must take advantage of the Fox, use it for your own good."

"I already have a cool chakra, I've got lots of it, I have cool moves. Why the hell would I learn from someone who wants to kill me. So other jinchuriki managed to form a…a bond…with the demons but I don't care."

"Why do you refuse such power? It would amplify your own, you could be greater than you ever imagined"

"You people gotta learn to stop thinking about power, you're too boring with all that crap about fate or violence. Just accept yourself as who you are. I'm sure your 'companion' agrees."

Full grown braches extended from a nearby tree and around both of them, providing shelter from the rain that was anticipated. Apparently the Four-Tails could use some sort of element fusion, allowing it to use secondary elements such as wood and ice. Naruto's attention reverted to it's original point." Teach me how you do that, I could really use it."

"We're's the kid who said too much power was bad" he raised one eyebrow' this guy is kinda annoying'. " You're too young for this, you shouldn't even be on active duty yet. The secondary elements take time to control and master even with our chakra."

"But this is my own, not borrowed from a Bijuu. I could control it better because of that."

"Why should I? You've got nothing to interest me, no special abilities, no moves you could trade back, what can you offer in return."

"The honor of training a future Hokage." He said as if the man was crazy" Why would you pass that chance?"

"Ha-ha, you've got some guts kid, but many in the Leaf are or would be good enough to be a future Hokage."

"So if you train the one who would be the Hokage, you would gain even more prestige, as he would be better than them. What could you want more?"

He laughed some. Maybe this kid was worth the pain, he may even become a Kage someday. And maybe he could make up for 'that thing' by training him. He was originally planning to teach him Bijuu control but it was like talking to a wall. A wall that could answer back." Fine fine, but we'll have to be fast. You still have comrades you need to return to. I'd say it will be another three months before the rebels win. A whole air fleet was destroyed just yesterday, an no ninja was killed in the process. Yukimura proved those wooden birds useless, as well as the metal throwers."

"I thought they were revolutionary weapons, how come they failed." The other one shrugged.

"I guess shinobi are more flexible in battle, more adaptive. Any weapon has weaknesses, we learn that on our own skins, and so we become wiser. A few Dragon Bullets and it's all over for wooden devices. As for metal, well, some are trained to move a speeds were can't aim or fire properly at them."

"Can't they just use people who are as faster?"

"It's still slower, because the mechanism's activation takes a second and as you know, as second is more than enough for even a genin. Shinobi adapt, we have always done that. Only now, regular armies will be somewhat different. I heard samurai refuse to use them so it's no big deal."

"What about my training? Show me some cool techniques!" he was more than eager to start bu t he was cut of as the rain poured faster. More braches and leafs were formed to keep them dry.

"Hold on, you still have to actually understand the elements before you can use them. Maybe I'll teach you some Hijutsu- secret techinuques- tomorrow, but for now pay attention."

"Since you know wood element at a basic level we'll start with that. Wood is the result of water- which is flexible and impossible to stop, and earth, a rigid, unmoving mass. Almost opposites, these two are marvelous when used together. Earth contains humus, a de-composed result of plants, animals, or even humans that die and rest in the soils. You following me?"

"Yep"

"Water has, with the right control, the ability to re-compose what was once broken and so form life out of the soil. To create life from chakra is very hard, you must be careful with the dosage. You can do that already, but mostly you use already developed roots. A Senjuu could summon trees from pure rock, only using chakra."

"Ano, if we can use plants, why not go farther to animals?"

"Two reasons. One, to replicate all the complex anatomy of a snake for instance, not missing anything, not even the smallest nerve or blood vessel and then to synchronize it's heartbeat and metabolism, to create homeostasis…"

"What's that?"

" The state of being of a body, the normal way it should be. As I was saying, to do that is considered nearly impossible even for the best med-nins. As for the second, well, where will we get if we start creating animal life forms?"

"To…to create a…."

"A human" he sighed" Once we are able to do that, where would we be. Is it morally right to create someone as yourself ? Do we have the right? Because of that, Mokuton was left where it is by the Senjuu scholars."

"So how do I make real trees, no just branches or roots?"

"Well, you must visualize the creation of a tree, you must feel the tree as it grows. You must be in contact with the environment to succeed. And the only way to do that is deep chakra induced meditation. Since we've got nothing better to do, you might get started. I'll take a short nap."

Three hours and five hundred curses later

"What the hell- 501-. I wanted to get in touch with it but not so much. This is really strange, I'm glad nobody's here to see me. The geezer is still sleeping though." To his horror, the man awoke rather fast for some one his age and once he saw him, he began laughing. Maniacally, like he was about to choke. And he laughed, and laughed, and laughed and laughed some more until he finally calmed down. And then his eyes made contact with Naruto and he broke into another laughter, even higher-pitched." Hurry up and get me out! My nose is iching!"

He had somehow strangled himself in roots and braches, completely immobilizes, with his head upside down and his limbs spread in some sort of ballet stance, like he was doing an upside-down pirouette. After a few canceling techniques he found himself on the ground- 502/503…./525/" Why did this happen?"

"You're too young for Mokuton. You put too much chakra in your moves. You have enough to spare, so control exercises are pointless, but you've got to manage the quantities so that it won't backfire. Control will come over time, rather than right away. You can do all the walking stuff so just concentrate more. "

"When you'll get older, you'll have even more chakra, better start learning to control it now when it's still at a normal level. You can't use the Wood Element yet."

"I can do it, old man, all I need is a few hours."

"It's getting dark, we better head back, the rain's over anyway."

"Go on ahead I'll catch up in a few minutes."

He was already leaving and waving his hand dismissively. "Just don't push yourself" Later that night he would have to use two pillows to block the amount of curses that now reached 10,000 that the blond kid was issuing. He looked at his watch- 3 a.m.- and he fell asleep- only for a minute as again curses flew everywhere- about branches, mokuton and chakra types along with the omni-present FK, before, after or during.

As morning came he left breakfast and went out to recover the body, or what was left of it, of the one known as Naruto. He found them under a full grown tree, with nice developed branches, clearly different than the anomalies surrounding it, some who had somehow, grown the other way around. Wood was now mastered but there were still Ice, Metal, Lava and Sound. But I guess that he's had an easier time than others. After all he does get feedback from his tenant, no wonder he learned it in a day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Uchiha Itachi stood in his Spartan tent reading a newly arrived message from the Hokage, with his personal seal, with the shipments. The Stallion had just departed, back to Wave where new regiments awaited embarking. As soon as the new army was assembled he could launch another offensive due south, and with some luck, capture Kirigakure. All his plans were messed up now as he was instructed to give command to his second and go on a solo mission.

_The boy's abilities are unique, Itachi, he must be found at once and brought to safety. Permission to kill anyone who blocks your way. Yukimura and his war can wait, right now the Hidden Leaf 's hopes are with you._

_Your target is four feet tall, blond, with three birthmarks on each cheek, resembling wiskers. His hair is spiky and his eyes are deep blue. I know that you have made a connection already but he has no relationship with the 4__th__, except for the Bijuu._- the man was very anticipative, Itachi nodded._If you find him, identify yourself by calling him 'Wisker' Do not mention the Fox._

An ANBU code-name for a seven year-old- that was bound catch his eye. So he was a Ne- even better. Why was he in the first line and why did he receive such a dangerous mission considering the S-rank security status. Someone wanted hi to get here, someone wanted him to get lost, sent alone on dangerous mission, one of his lieutenants for sure. The conclusion did not shock him, not even amused the stoic boy. When he served in the Independent Corps as an ANBU captain he would find info like this on every mission.

First he had to find the kid, based on the relative coordinates of his mission objective. Then bring him back to safety and scan the minds of every one of his officers. Once the traitor or traitors discovered, he would have to make an official report. And then he could rest. Objectives set he took a small backpack and his sword and vanished in a cloud of smoke. A note on the table gave command to Sishui, his friend and first officer, as well as instructions while he was 'sick'. A genjutsu master was the perfect choice indeed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As usual, the fox rested in it's cage, restricted to some actions that he once dismissed as useless. Now he was beginning to regret never having a family or a friend. So what if he was just a mass of chakra, nobody could live alone. But he did, and for a very long time, so that argument failed. As log as he could remember, he had been alone. He knew nothing of parents, he was treated with disgust by those alike him, the summons, for centuries, before he finally developed his full powers and began being known as the Lord of the Bijuu.

Force was the only way for him, ruthlessness was a second nature, he could never forgive being shunned by those who could have understood him most. Wherever he went, fear was the factor that made him victorious, his own pain and suffering transcended in a marvelous genjutsu, a fear that affected all, animal or human. Even plants seemed to fade away when he was around.

Many challenged him but none succeeded as he had the opening factor on his side. When he did battle, his enemies were demoralized and scared, ready to flee at only a simple motion of his hand. The only time he did enjoy a fight was a few years ago. That was his last as well.

'Hidden Leaf forever be cursed' he said with amusement. The only entity ever to kneel him was that village. Oh, how bravely they came with everything they had, scared but determined at the same time. It had been hard keeping up with their pace as wave after wave of shinobi attacked him, getting him farther and farther away from their beloved village, in a comic manner. But when he felt himself pulled and then faint- faint! For heaven's sake! He had fainted!- his amusement turned to horror. He only caught a glimpse of one of shinobi, their leader, and what he was shocked him- again, WTF?!-

Pain was on his face. Pain he understood because it was just like his, so long forgotten and yet so easy to recall. But with the pain loneliness brought was another one he only recognize only later on. The pain of sacrificing someone close to you. The pain of sealing one's fate to a pre-destined line. The eyes he saw were enough to get a feeling of pity out of him. When he woke up he was in this cage, shocked- What had he been smoking?!- and touched.

And now he felt the astral form of his jailor appear in front of cage, waiting for another answer or maybe for a 'cool' ninjutsu he may teach him. Later, he decided, when he would be ready. Now he could only give him wisdom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, baka fox, wake up! Come-on lazy-ass I haven't got all day! Are you even listening to me?!"

"**Shut up. Just keep it shut, I'm bored. Unless you want to provide me with an occupation like hunting or torture, then remain silent."**

"I've got questions…"

"**Wow, that really is surpring" **he said mockingly.**" Just say what you want to say and leave me alone."** He also noted that the other two had been placed in another compartment of this spacious mind.

" What...who…how…why….What do you thinkofjincuuriki ?" he said rather hastily, especially the last part. How did you make a demon to vocalize it's opinion?

" **Jinchuuriki exist as the only barrier between us and the rest of the world. They are the wall that keeps us from destroying all in our path. But to be able to create such barriers, humans must pay dearly. One of their own needs to sacrifice himself and become a host for our chakra. But people rarely care about others than themselves and their family, such a sacrifice is not as hard to make. It was easy for the 4****th**** to turn you into what you are."**

"The Yondaime did all he could to protect the village. He gave his life for this and I'm doing the same thing- I'm keeping the Leaf safe from you."

"**Do you even believe what you're saying, kid? How can one have the right to make someone else pay the price for peace ****, someone who didn't have a choice?" **he loved messing up with their minds.

" He paid a price himself."

"**Death is nothing compared to loneliness and a legacy of hate. Why didn't he become a jinchuuriki then?"**

"He…he had to use me… he was…"

"**A coward and an idiot. Now you pay for his mistakes. Now you suffer for his sake and for the sake of a village who mostly hates you."** The demon's arguments were good, no doubt about it. He managed to shake the foundation of his most dear belief- that the 4th Hokage was a hero- Dan-jii-san always spoke of him in high terms, as if he were a legend, a demi-god of some sort.

" _He won where we lost. He attacked when we retreated. He fought with all his being for the Leaf's safety. He was feared by all, all the great legends of the land were surpassed by his owns. Sarutobi, The God of all Shinobi, was considered to have only a fraction of his power."_ But not even he could give him a good answer at the fundamental question- Why?"

"I…I can't judge him…he…."

"**Remember when those two said- the most evil man ever to walk the earth?"**

"Oh…no" a feeling of dread filled him. He was nauseous and would crack any moment now. He didn't want to hear it but part of him expected it.

"**It was the Yondaime Hokage they were talking about."** Naruto left his mind realm, tears in his eyes, unable to believe what he had just heard.

End!

Okay people, now that you're here just review the damn thing, I'm kinda sad already :((

By the way- What do you think, is every clearing in the Naruto universe a sacred place filled with some sort of magical energy? Because so far that's probably the only place that people train in.


	16. ABladeInTheMist,Ch9:MorningMist

I don't own any manga, anime or cartoon that may be related to this story

I don't own any manga, anime or cartoon that may be related to this story.

Author Notes: As some have already guessed, the Uchiha clan won't be killed by Itachi, or by anyone else. Uchiha are just episodic characters that will have almost nothing to do with the main plot except for three or four of them who might- MIGHT- become secondary characters.

I've received a PM saying about the introduction of technology in the Naruto Universe and how it will affect it. First of all, from the episodes I've saw or read, there are some very advanced equipments in the world of ninja, as cranes that lift processed steel bars and medical oriented ones too. It is a world where the new and old are kind of mixed up, not your average 15th century Japan. Plus the airplanes and guns are very primitive, just an experiment of Ame no Kuni.

A Blade In The Mist, Chapter nine- Morning Mist

Twelve breaths- feel the sword.

Twelve breaths- keep it completely still.

Twelve breaths- feel the sword.

"For how long will I have to do this? I'm bored."

"Until you learn the blade, until you know it's center of gravity. Keep practicing." Both were by the river, the same spot as a week ago, only different.The scenery was completely changed now, almost like a clown's face.Burned grass, lumps of iron, splintered wood and puddles of water for about one-hundred feet in every direction.Right now, Naruto was learning a sword fighting style, a very basic one at that, no higher than the one the Ninja Academy in Kirigakure taught it's more advanced students.

As he moved, traces of yellow chakra marked the place where he had been just a second ago, a ghostly cloud of energy concentrated on his arms and knees, since they were the ones mostly used in this exercise. Kenjutsu was probably the last thing he would want to learn when there were so many other 'cool' things to do with the secondary elements but his temporary teacher refused to show him advanced ones.

'Just figure some ninjutsu on your own, you know the basic'

He was just a kid, how was he supposed to create ninjutsu, he barely knew some mid-level ones, except for the Karyuu Endan, who was a bit stronger than the rest. Sai had only shown him as much in the months they spent training and at the Core Army boot camp he only learned tactics and team-work.

He had lots of ideas on how an awesome ninjutsu should be, like creating a rain of swords or summoning a volcano, but he had no clue as to how it could be done. He was also advised to start with minor one like creating a senbon or a kunai or an ice disc but even those seemed out of reach. Since he was bored he learned some kenjutsu with the sword he captured from Erik.

It was very light, like a breeze of wind could easily carry it away and because of the lack in weight, inertia didn't count as much in a fight. That was in the first day. In the second it was impossible to lift it weighted a ton and we he dropped it by mistake, a large boulder was turned to dust. And so on, like it had mood swings or something.

The fact that it was double bladed made Naruto curious, he always thought of swords as having only one, two were almost annoying because it didn't act like a normal one, the wooden trainings he had been given first was responding to his commands in another way than this sword.

Sai had told him about the strange fashion of sword design, shinobi that carried massive blades, people who preferred to have fangs and skulls on their katana. The original model that samurai used was not as famous as it was before. He even heard there were swords with no edge, able to deliver damage in every direction although he couldn't imagine how.

For now he was learning how to move the blade so that he wouldn't cut himself and maybe make a scratch or a bruise on an enemy. Since the blade had some sort of seal or genjutsu on it making it to shift weight, he had already stabbed himself twice.

Erik was un-available for any tips he only shrugged and went to sleep saying that it wasn't his problem anymore. Saizo had passed in to some sort of sleep, he didn't move at all, not even breathe but he was still warm, meaning he had entered a state of comma. For that matter, even Erik felt drowsy from time to time. He said it was just a simple chakra exhaustion from their soul transfer.

" Souls are made to reside inside the original body. Once your body has reached a maximum level of damaging and can no longer sustain homeostasis the soul, or chakra, leaves." It seems they had taken the wrong turn while heading to the proverbial 'light' and got trapped inside his mind-realm. It was like a huge hollow space with green auroras above it, a place where the laws of physics do not apply.

"We no longer exist but for the chakra we had, which carried our memories and personalities. Theoretically we shouldn't be here, there is nothing binding ourselves with you, we exist outside the seal. It's like a middle area between your memories and the kitsune. I'll try some basic chakra sensory techniques to determine the type of seal holding us here and maybe develop a 'spear-head seal or a corridor one to allow us to leave." Being the kid that he is, Naruto didn't understand any word, he barely knew what seals were but his memory shifted to automatic, registering every word and keeping it for later use. A basic skill for Jounin and ANBU trained for reconnaissance.

Another shift of weight and another stab wound healing itself, but painfully, as if he were warned not to repeat the feat. On a rock in the middle of the stream, the elder watched with eagle eyes every single detail of the form, the good and bad in it and improvement rate. So far he was impressed, the boy did very well with his training, almost too well.

"He has enough help with that you know" the voice inside his mind said" He uses info that indirectly come from the Kyuubi, as well as barely noticeable reflexes he shouldn't posses. So far, no Bijuu has ever connected with it's host so well, those two are working as a single organism..But as he gets older, the Nine-tails' chakra will slowly become his own. In a decade and a half, the demon-fox will no longer exist. Marvelous design on that seal, indeed marvelous. He may feel some pain from time to time as his chakra circulatory system grows larger and larger and he will most definitely fall into at least a coma."

"So Jiraya was right, he can grow very strong and he will. Morning Mist added into the mix and we'll have ourselves another legend."

"Is that why you agreed to train him in your elements?"

"The kid is very much like him. Maybe we can prevent it this time, maybe we'll be ready. Maybe the prophecy will come true."

"He has a long way to go. I suggest you show him another kata because he is finished with this one." And true to the Yonbi's world Naruto was shouting at him from the shore.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sharingan is a doujutsu that allows high detail chakra reading, it specializes in observing chakra in the environment. When Hyuuga are asked what is it like to see like they see, some compare it to an x-ray vision where chakra is pointed out by a special color. Uchiha, however do not know how to describe a third level sharingan vision, they say it's very much like watching what is happening and what will happen, to see all chakra and how it will be after a fraction of a second. With it one can gather all small details in a person's body, the constriction and dilatation of muscles, and determine a person's next move.

For a ninja, to see the future means to have the advantage of planning ahead, the ability to counter any attack and copy distinct moves as long as they have no special requirement. Uchiha thought themselves superior due to this and over the years, they proved it, by becoming a world-known clan.

In the climax of their ascent to greatness they met with the only ones ever to surpass them, ever so slightly, by utilizing another advanced bloodline, one as spectacular as they eyes, un-copyable for them as it required a certain a mutation of the genes. From that appeared the rivalry of the greatest clans of shinobi, one that would push both factions further and further into training and developing stronger techniques as each tried to be the best. It wasn't long before they gave birth to monsters.

Uchiha Madara's life is a perfect example to the goings-on in his clan. To better himself more and more, to achieve a state of power like none seen before- the Mangekyo Sahringan- by simply training your body beyond the limits is the way of every warrior under 'The Fan that controls Fire'. Power comes with a cost, in his case, to further sink into darkness, a fall accelerated by the over-use of the Kaleidoscope. In an act of madness, he killed his brother and with the power he gained he was thought invincible. But he had killed his soul the day when the Eternal Mangekyo first shone in his eyes, testimony to the Uchiha phobia of blindness.

Hashimara Senjuu, the ultimate user of Mokuton, a unique ability to create life, the result of years of research and pain. He took the same path as his Uchiha homologue, but his fall was slower. For to finally achieve mastery of the hijutsu, you must surrender your body, you must become one with the tree, your organs begin to turn to wood, you seem able to extend roots from your limbs and feed from the ground.

The battle that raged was inevitable. The two colossus met far away from their homes, fearing for the safety of their people. No one was present that day to see how the spear-heads of the ninja world fought, how the demi-gods clashed. Chakra levels grew so high that from one hundred miles away you could feel it, but who dared to approach, to get caught in crossfire? Today, nothing grows on the battle field, chakra levels are still palpable. For as a tree was summoned, a stream of fire came to burn it.

Genjutsu was a specialty of the Sharingan, the natural chakra in each plant is strong enough to break it. Taijutsu, to see the future and to mold every inch of the environment as you wish, these two powers balanced the strength and speed of the giants. Ninjutsu, to use the elements, here was the failure of the Uchiha. For water was stronger than fire. Even eternal flames must die out, and so they did as the fight went on and on. In the end Uchiha Madara admitted defeat. And one simple statement was enough for an alliance. An alliance known as Hidden Leaf.

Ironic, isn't it, that the defeated are now the strongest and the Senjuu have all vanished, only a few relatives remaining of the great clan, distant, without the powers that made them famous. Koichi Tsunade was the last prodigy of the 'clan', although she carried another name, and she was still far from the level her grand-father and grand-uncle had been at. Many expected much from the blond-haired, short-tempered girl, now placed in the same team as the prank-master and human-weapon. Their teacher being the favorite student of the First and Second, many had high hopes from this team.

As war knocked on the door, more and more troops sent to the north-western border, where Iwa-nins had been spotted, the three chuunin became more and more frustrated. Being a relatively young-squad, only a few months old, they weren't given permission to go with the latest convoy. Jiraya swore, Tsunade cracked her knuckles and Orochimaru simply stared at Sarutobi as he spoke.

"We'll be taking missions like we did so far for another year and then you'll be a full combat unit. Normally I should step down as your sensei, being that you are chuunin, but I have by-passed a few rules and so Team 7 will remain whole for as long as possible, even if you make Jounin."

"Alright, we'll be the best ever!"

"Why the hell must I be on a team with three idiots?" she remains oblivious to the stares he gets from them " I should just quit, you guys are too stupid."

"Tsunade, five-laps around the village, on the double."

"But…"

"TEN!" muttering she took of, curses and obscenities behind her. "As I was saying we will remain a squad until you decide to take gennin of your own, so we've got at least two years, since you need twenty four months of active duty to qualify for the examination and another five months to be a sensei. HI5" he and Jiraya grinned like madmen as they cheered while Orochimaru slapped his forehead. Maybe he should quit too.

"Do we have any assignment, sensei, any new mission?" he asked trying to change the subject before hugging became involved.

"Why, yes we have." His tone became sly as if he had done some sort of illegal act" I've managed to get ourselves an A-rank mission to Wind Country, we leave in six hours." Tsunade passed them, middle finger up for both hands. "We'll discuss the details once we reach a safe rendezvous point with or client. Better go home and pack for a two weeks trip."

"What about Tsunade-hime?" the snake boy spoke while absently watching one of his knives." Or do we do the usual 'keep her in the dark until she gets really mad'?"

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Itachi had no problem navigating through the braches and leaves of the forest he had just entered, the thick mist around him posing no problem to the prodigy. He took out a compass and observed the deviation of the indicator for a good ten seconds until it settled for the north-south axis.

From the map he memorized, he still had a long way to go until he could reach his destination, and then the rough part began. While his sight was very good, his sense of smell lacked training. His entire tracker techniques consisted of reading footprints and chakra sensing, something useless, as his target had no doubt traveled a long distance to avoid detection. It would have been wiser to head for the closest ally base, that's what an ANBU would do, but he was talking about a kid here, even as promising as he were.

He had information from his own tracker squads that some of those in the besieged city managed to go south and form guerilla units in the mountains, but the mission had been handed to him before the fort fell, actually just two days before that. To destroy a train heading for the frontlines, pretty easy stuff, a gennin could pull it of. To have kage in that train, as rumors were, who died in the incident, well, that was the Hunter-nin's job. Maybe the kid had deserted, maybe he was captured, nobody knew. A short while ago, another Mizukage had been appointed, feeding the stories with more and more material.

Again he pondered why would a kid be here in the first place, why would he be a shinobi in the first place. Himself and Kakashi-senpai had been the youngest to ever make chuunin in the history of the Hidden Leaf, but there had been special circumstances. But from what he could tell, the boy had training from Ne, he was taught to fight other shinobi of high level like missing or enemy ones, and from the age of six, no less!

He would personally ask the Hokage when he returned to Konoha. Sensing movement to his left, a kunai appeared in his had and he inclined himself slightly as to brace for and impact. Four figures with animal masks landed around him on other branches. The tattoo on their shoulder told him everything – Konoha.

"Report. What is your purpose?"

"We have received your message a few hours ago, taichou. It was hard to track you as your were moving."

"We have little information of the type you ask for. Lately the flux of people stealthily going south has diminished even more. Nobody matched your description."

"Have you checked for Henge no jutsu? How ?"

"I am a Hyuuga, sir" the first said with a bit of restrain in his voice. He shouldn't have given out any personal info, ever!

"From the things you know, where would a guerilla soldier head for a safe base? Where could he receive shelter, food and water in these parameters." He drew a square on his map in the S-W of the country, ending near Kirigakure.

"The forests around here, and here are wild, sir, not caravan passes through them. One could easily hide there, and nature would supply the rest."

"We'll move in a scattered formation, a good distance between each of us. Watch out for any chakra source, no matter how small. Our target is a child; he should not have too much. Since it's a deserted area it would be clearer than usual. Go!" with that all leapt in a different direction.

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When princess Sayoshi woke up that morning, it wasn't in a good mood. Not a good mood at all, seeing that again she had been unable to sleep properly, due to nightmares and noises from another stupid concert her father hosted right next to the palace, in the outer gardens, as close to her room as possible. Why would he listen to junk like that she would never get. Banging metal on metal, screaming like crazy while jerking you head in all directions, wearing a very long hair and loose pants, oh, what a thrill!

The ninja at her door bowed slightly as she exited, his leaf forehead sign shining in the light for a brief second- she hated being saluted by a bow wherever she went, it was like a natural instinct for people in the palace. Protocol was protocol, that is why she wore only high class kimono, that's why she moved at a studied pace. Today she was expected by her teacher in the southern wing, where the weapons and soldiers resided. Today she would get a set of kunai, after months of begging her father.

For her it was the first weapon she would ever hold or even see, none showed their blades in her presence, not even sheathed, she could not see the training grounds from her balcony or any other for that matter, for some reason shinobi preferred to train in clearing in the woods away from the city. Only after hard work had she convinced a newly came ninja, Sarutobi-san to show her the basics, and he promised her a full set.

A guard of twelve other shinobi and samurai greeted her and adjusted their pace to hers'. A personal guard was still in order while leaving her apartments. It was just another rule among many.

Asuma was patient enough to wait for an hour, the time she needed to cross the palace, get lost twice and finally getting on the right path. Secretly she thought he was sleeping, he tended to do that sometimes or doze off to whatever fantasy world he dreamed of.

At last she saw a blade, and for the first time she felt a deep lust within her soul, a lust to simply move the deadly instrument, to attack.

"Wow, there Hime-sama, you must be careful. Blades don't care who they cut, all that matters is the cut. You wouldn't want an injury from the first day."

"But you said ninja injure themselves every day while training, it's part of getting stronger."

"Yes, but those ninja train because their existence depends on it. For us to train means to survive. You should not worry for such things."

"I don't care that I'm a princess! I wanna be like you guys, sticking to walls and moving with no sound, you are so cool!"

"There are very harsh moments for ninja, flashy moves aren't everything, sometimes we have rough choices ahead of us."

"I don't care, I want to be a ninja.!" Now she was very stubborn about it, she thought it over lots of times and decided it was cool being a ninja. Plus there were other things she could do with the power, many interesting things.

The bearded man chuckled" You have to ask your father then. If he agrees I'll give you some basics and we'll see about advanced type. Maybe I can get you in the academy in Konoha for next year's classes." He already knew the man would agree, Sayoshi was after all his precious daughter an until now he had done whatever she asked.

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"Those are my actions, gentlemen. I considered asking for him personally because his reputation is well known. In a matter of weeks we shall know if he was successful or not."

A row of applauses" Very well, councilor Nagara, you did very well indeed."

"It is my only wish to serve you, sir, and to see to the well-fare of my country."

"So do we agree in the matter. Soon the first ninja of Otogakure will be ready for a field test. Soon our plans will come to fruition, as the whole northern coast will fall under our influence. The previously set conditions will never be met."

"The fate of your heir comes to discussion then. Will you go on with that plan too?"

"Yes, it will be good for her and as soon as they meet second phase is activated."

End!

And what about head-phones and recording cameras – chuunin exam, 2nd part, anko watching gaara and his team.

Review so we could all be happy!


	17. Chapter 2 rewritten

Chapter two re-written


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